Courage in Vegas
by Jonathan R
Summary: Started in '03, completed in '08, this epic story, co-written by Chris Gammon, marks the end of the 'Courage & the Hendersons' trilogy. Demonic battles, love, hate, and Courage all come together within the City of Sin.
1. Enter the K9 Krew

"Courage in Vegas"

Written by Jonathan R and Chris Gammon

The story so far…

It all began with "Courage and the Hendersons."  Kevin Henderson was 16 at the time and Courage had his first encounter with Sandy and her human family.  Two and a half weeks later, "The Return of the Hendersons" took place, and Courage once again battled against evil along with secret agents and other familiar characters. 

Next, came Chris Gammon's "That's Perfection."  Chris's story takes place six months after "Return of the Hendersons."  Kevin was 17 and had received his driver's license.  Many new and "interesting" perils occurred, including the introduction of Chris's original characters, Armadillo Rex and Dark Sonic.

Now, you must read those three stories IN THAT ORDER before reading this one.  "Courage In Vegas" takes place about one year after "That's Perfection."  Kevin is 18 and has just graduated from high school. The story begins here, on a lonely L.A. road.

"Enter the K9 Krew"

A large bus was driving out of the smog-covered city of Los Angeles and heading towards the lights of Las Vegas.  The driver of the bus was a large, fat man in a tank top and shorts.  His eyes were locked onto the long stretch of road ahead.

The man sighed.  "I turned down a job at Boeing for this?  Driving my friend's son's tour bus with his weird little band?" he mumbled to himself.

"Hey, at least it pays your salary," said a voice behind him.

Joe Nathan entered the bus cockpit.  He was 22, tall, lean, and handsome.  His thick mess of brown hair sat atop his head like a mop.  He wore a white T-shirt with "Gorillaz" etched onto it.  His Bermuda shorts hung down from his hips, and his feet were outfitted with sandals.  Joe swung into the passenger seat.

"Say, Allen, how far is it until we hit Vegas?" asked Joe, propping his feet on the dash.

"'Bout a day, or so." answered Allen the bus driver.

"C'mon, quit joking," said Joe.

"No, really," argued Allen.  "We might stop for a few things.  It could take a while."

"Whatever," sighed Joe, rolling his eyes.  "Wow, our first out-of-state gig!  You know, me and the Krew have really been looking forward to this."

"Yep, and I was the cheapest bus driver too."

"Hey!  Selling records online from an independent label doesn't get you much moolah, my man."  Joe stared across the vast desert wasteland.  "Damn, I'll bet it's hot outside."

Allen nodded.

Just then, there was a howling sound in the back of the bus.  "Well, I'd better go check on the band.  An agent's work is never done.  And stop calling my band 'weird'." Joe warned.

"Yeah," grumbled Allen.

Joe turned around.  "Look, I know you don't like dogs much, but if it wasn't for me, they'd all be put to sleep, just like that.  They've all had really bad lives, and I'm just giving them a second chance at life, okay?" Joe snapped, pointing his finger in Allen's face.

"Alright, I'm sorry!  Sheesh," scoffed Allen.  "No need to get personal." And he looked back at the road.

"On a tour bus, everything's personal."

Joe got up and walked back down the hall.  He opened the door and came across five dogs huddled around the TV.  That's right, the band is made up of five dogs (the same exact dogs from Courage's dream in "Return of the Hendersons!")

The brown mutt in front of the television turned to look at Joe.  His name was Psycho and his plain white eyes proved it.  He was the band's lead singer and could also play the keyboard and DJ booth.  

Next to Psycho was a French poodle with purple-dyed fur, blue eyes, and a very attractive figure.  Her name was Gina and she played bass.  Her front paws were the only parts of her body that looked unsightly.  There were several calluses on them that proved that she was very experienced on the bass guitar.

Sitting on the recliner was a light brown dachshund named Rex (his stage name is "R.X.", which is pronounced the same way.  I'll use this name so as not to confuse him with Armadillo Rex.)  He was an electric guitar virtuoso.  He could crank out outrageous guitar licks and knew the chords to numerous rock songs.  His appearance mirrored his music playing.  He had yellow, spiked fur on his head and had an earring in his droopy right ear.   

Next to RX was a golden Cocker spaniel-mix named Daisy.  She played pretty much any guitar that was given to her as long as it could be played left-handed.  Her large blue eyes stared at Joe with a constant look of concern and interest.

Finally, lying on the rug was a large pit bull named Humphrey.  His white fur covered his entire body from back toe to the tip of his large muzzle.  His ears stood up from his well-muscled body…well muscled because Humphrey played the drums.   

Together, these five dogs made up the band, "The K9 Krew."  Psycho was holding the group's first and only CD…the self-titled, "Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew."  (Although Joe is their agent, he is also the band's announcer and plays back-up on several instruments.) 

"What's with the howling, guys?" asked Joe.

"Uh," said RX, tugging his shirt collar, "We're just so excited about playing in Vegas for the first time."  The other dogs agreed.

Joe eyed them suspiciously.  "You were watching that TV channel again, weren't you?"

"Hey, it's not our fault we have satellite," argued Psycho.  "We're adult dogs.  We can watch whatever we…"

"Yeah, yeah," said Joe.  "You guys really are excited?"

"C'mon, Joe," said Humphrey, who sat up on the rug.  "You've been training us for five years now, and I think we deserve to let our public finally hear what our deal is!"

"Yeah, once we stop in Vegas," said Daisy, "I wanna see all the sights!  MGM Grand, the big, Strato-tower thingy, Caesar's Palace…"

"I just can't believe my best online buddy in the world asked us to play at HIS casino! This could be our big break!" Psycho said referring to none other than Armadillo Rex, or as he affectionately called him, William.

"Well, be sure to get ready.  We should be checking into the city in a day or two."  Joe went further back in the bus to his room.

"I ain't going to Caesar's Palace," announced RX.  "The gambling's great, but anyplace Celine Dion performs isn't where I'm gonna be!"

"Amen to that," muttered Psycho and Humphrey in unison.

"AND NO GAMBLING!" yelled Joe from the back room.

"Killjoy," said Gina, who wrapped her arm around Psycho's arm.  Those two dogs had a VERY close relationship.

The bus kicked into gear as it rounded the mountains of southern California.

(For more info on Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew, go to my bio or, if you want to know what the Krew actually looks like, send me an e-mail and request a pic of myself with the Krew!)


	2. The Rex Show is Going Live

"The Rex Show is Going Live"          

In Vegas, someone was putting a videotape into a VCR and looking at a television screen.  The screen suddenly came to life.

"The Rex show is going live!  The new season will start here!  LIVE IN VEGAS!" Rex shouted into the camera. He wore an Insane Clown Posse "Wraith" jersey, denim shorts, and sandals with Velcro. 

Rex was a 5'5" armadillo who was a lime green color.  His skin was anyway.  His right arm, his legs from thigh to ankle, and his tail were a darker green.  These limbs were replaced with cybernetic limbs after losing them in an accident years ago.  His tail had a built in laser and appeared to be skeletal looking for intimidation.  His right arm also had a laser, though not a powerful.  His past is full of pain and heartache from Sonic, a weasel named Nack, and even Courage himself.  His normal garb would be an orange jersey with matching boots and hardhat.  But he occasionally dresses in other things when the mood suits him. 

"First of all, let's dispel the fact that Vegas is only all about gambling.  There are many other things to see, do, and eat!  Come with me and check em' out!" Rex said, waving to the cameraman (who is Dark Sonic) to follow him. 

Inside the Viper, Rex looked at the camera, ignoring the road ahead.

"First, we're gonna go to the famous 'Liberace Museum'!  This place is dedicated to the nine gold record, highest paid, gayer-than-Elton John musician of all time!" 

"SHIT!" Rex shouted, swerving out of the way of another car. 

When the camera comes back on, we see Rex in front of a building. 

"We're here, live, at 1775 East Tropicana Avenue.  This is where the museum is located.  You can see it right behind me here," Rex said gesturing to the white building behind him.  It had an arched doorway, and gold lettering reading "Liberace Museum".  It almost looked like part of a strip mall.

Rex walked into the front door in fast motion with "Viva Las Vegas" playing in the background.   "Yes, it's this little non-prophet organization where we can remember the greatest Batman villain…er…um……….musician ever.  If only his brother George was here!" Rex said, making a swooning pose. 

The camera moved from side to side, signaling Dark Sonic shaking his head in disproval.

Rex looked at the gold records; the ostrich feather suit, and especially the cars.  The mirror tiled Rolls Royce was mind-boggling.

"LOOK! It's his Uncle Sam pants!" Rex said like a three year old, running up to the dummy that was wearing them.

After some fun, more "Viva Las Vegas" played as they left and got back into the Viper. 

"That was interesting.  Next stop is a place where there are people freakier than I am!  That's right, it's the Guinness Book of World Records Museum!" 

Just to the north of the Circus Circus hotel, a blue viper skidded to a stop.  They entered the museum and were amazed by the stuff. 

"We're here now at the Guinness Museum, where I was just watching the domino display.  Did you know, that sixty students in the Netherlands set up over 2.3 MILLION dominoes?  This feat took place at the…" Rex looked over to the display that had the word "Dominoes" printed all over it.  Housed in this display were 3 screens showing the information.   "…………………..Lee…war…dem Expo Centrum FEC?  Now I do!"

After a bit of browsing they came upon a huge mannequin.  Near it was a red ruler only going to 4 feet that read "How Tall Are You?" in white letters. 

"Wow.  Robert Wadlow!  Says here he was the tallest man alive at 8 feet 11 inches, and over 400 pounds.  Damn!  If only he played basketball in the finals!" Rex said looking up at the dummy.  He stood in front of the ruler for the heck of it.

"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy.  Says here I'm, like, 5 feet 5 inches! I shrunk some!!!!" Rex said in disbelief.   "Nah, I'm just jerkin your chain.  I'm not really 6 feet tall, folks.  PLEASE!" he said, rolling his eyes. 

"Now, here we are at Las Vegas native Louise J. Greenfarb, a.k.a. "the magnet lady" who has collected over 29,000 and counting fridge magnets!  Amazing!" Rex tried to shake them off his metal arm, but wound up hiding it behind his back, grinning sheepishly.  More were on his tail and legs.

A few minuets later, they were thrown out the front door. 

"And don't come back you wreckers!" a voice hollered.  The door slammed. 

"Feh! Who needs em'?  Let's go get some grub!  I know just the joint!" Rex said, getting up off the ground.

Amid the green and gold neon lights of the restaurant, a blue Viper skidded to a halt out front.  They gave the keys to the valet attendant and walked in. 

"Here we are at Emeril Lagassee's New Orleans Fish House.  The best place for kicked up seafood with a BAM!" Rex said. 

"And how many?" the woman at the podium asked.

"Two please.  Don't mind the camera, we're filming a show." Rex said, waving off the camera.  "And by the way, I didn't know you had valet parking."

"We don't." the lady said. 

Rex ran out the door and down the street.  Dark Sonic sat the camera on their table and finally showed his red-eyed face.  He resembled the heroic hedgehog, but that was it.  His flesh, fur, and his gloves and shoes (when he wore them) were all jet black.  He was almost a walking shadow.  His quills were longer, sharper and hung past his shoulders, and his ears were longer a bit, giving them a Batman kind of appearance.  The only things not black were his eyelids, inner ears, fingernails, and toenails.  Those were a light gray color.  His eyes were all red, except the black pupils, and glowed when it was dark enough. 

"While Rex is occupied, I'll show you the menu!" he said taking one from the waiter. 

"Are you ready to order?" the nervous waiter asked.

"Not yet, my partner hasn't arrived yet," Dark Sonic said, glancing at the door. 

The waiter nodded and walked off.  Dark opened the menu and began to read it to the camera.

"Let's see…dinner menu.  Hmmm. 'Emeril's House Salad: assorted Organic Baby Lettuces tossed with Pepper Jack Cheese, Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and Homemade Spiced Croutons'…nah.  I need meat!" Dark Sonic said, continuing reading the menu. 

Rex finally came back, cursing under his breath, but with a new guest.  They sat down at the table with Dark Sonic who was still reading the menu.  "Damn that Tommy Vercetti."

"Hmm.  'Grilled Maine Lobster & Mango Summer Roll served with Watercress, Plantain Shoestrings and a Carrot Dipping Sauce'…nah," Dark continued.  He glanced up from the menu and noticed Rex and now, Cindy sitting at the table. 

Cindy was a young girl who was an interesting mix of bloodlines.  She was half raccoon, half fox.  She had raccoon gray fur all over her body, with the exceptions being her hands and feet, which were black like a fox's, and her chest, stomach, and muzzle which were white.  Her yellow eyes had the traditional black raccoon mask, and her black fox-like ears emerged from under her well-styled black hair that hung to her shoulders.  She wore a red tank-top, denim shorts and blue sneakers with white highlights.  Her bushy fox tail had the raccoon stripes in black streaked across, and was topped with bushy white. 

Cindy was a skilled psychiatrist who evaluated Rex after his failed plan. (See Chris's story "Hidden Secrets")  Cindy felt so sorry for Rex she decided to give him the love he never had, and try to revert him back to who he once was.  Dark didn't like her, not because she stole his attention.  Not even because she was trying to change Rex back.  It's just her pure heart always gives Dark an uneasy feeling.  It seems everyone he meets, except Rex, has a pure heart.  Some hearts are more pure than others though.

"Where did SHE come from?"  Dark Sonic asked annoyed, using his eyes to point at Cindy. 

"I decided to swing by and pick her up after I beat the crap outta that guy," Rex said, putting his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.  They began to kiss. 

Dark Sonic covered his eyes.  "If you are gonna do that, I'm outta here!" Seeing love also made him sick. Not only out of jealously, but because it's the total opposite of all he embodies. 

"You're just jealous!  Have you ordered anything yet?" Rex asked noticing the menu. 

"No.  I figured I'd be 'nice' and wait for you to return.  Now I see that was a bad idea." Dark Sonic said, returning his gaze to the menu. 

"Look, let's not turn this show into the 'Real World' okay?" Rex said. 

Rex took the menu from Dark and looked it over, Cindy's head on his shoulder reading along. 

"Look sweetie!" Cindy said, pointing to the menu.  Her yellow eyes looked up at Rex while her head remained on his shoulder. 

"Look sweetie!" Dark Sonic mimicked, annoyed. 

Rex glanced up from the menu to see Dark melting the candle with his finger. 

He looked at the menu to where Cindy's finger was.  "What's this? 'Emeril's New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp served with a Petite Rosemary Biscuit'?  Is that what you want?" Rex asked, looking Cindy in the eyes.  She nodded. 

Rex got up and asked to help in the kitchen.  Dark Sonic followed, mumbling along the way. 

When he got into the kitchen, he was told to put on the apron and chef hat.  He was shown how they prepare the food.

"Can I try?" Rex asked.  He grabbed a pinch of spice and threw it down.  "BAM!" he yelled. 

The other chefs laughed as he acted silly.  When he was done, he went around playing waiter.  He basically made an ass out of himself, much to the humor of others. 

After dinner, it was getting late, so they headed back to the Wild Kard Hotel to rest up. 

"Tune in tomorrow as we do more fun things in Vegas!  We'll start early to do more things, that is if business don't get in the way." Rex said into the camera.  He put it down, showing him and Cindy in bed together.  The camera shut off for the night. 

Dark paced around the Wild Kard, feeling an odd sensation.  Like his body was numb.  Something was nearby and was triggering his senses.  He walked down the hall nearly bumping into a rabbit.  This rabbit was 3 feet tall and had a smart mouth attitude.  His yellow eyes were the only other color among his white body.  He normally wore yellow and blue sneakers with his staff shirt and black shorts.  But now all he had was a robe. 

"Watch it buddy!" Card Trick said.

"Sorry Max," Dark said.

"Only Rex can all me that, YOU call me Card Trick!  Or CT," Card Trick snapped.

He walked off and Dark only shook his head.  He continued to follow this "Vibe" he was getting until it got more noticeable.  Judging by the feeling he was getting he was right on top of it.

Dark looked down between his bare feet and saw a strange glow on the tile of the ballroom.  He got down on his knees and examined it until he saw some sort of writing.  After he glanced at it, it vanished before it could fully register in Dark's memory. 

This was certainly strange.  Then Dark thought back to when he snuck into the Stromwell lab after it was boarded up.  Turns out there was this "adventure" Courage had involving a ghost doctor and some demon named Byleth.  Seems that Stromwell was ranting in some sort of journal that in order to get his wife back he had to fulfill the deal he made with the ruler of Purgatory. 

Apparently since Stromwell was the only mortal to travel to Byleth's realm, he'd be the perfect candidate to roundup some stray demons that had escaped their punishment.  It seems Byleth's ass was on the line due to the four princes of Hell escaping.  Before he could get them back, they were imprisoned on earth.

Dark put 2 and 2 together. 4 princes, Dark still needs four pieces of Oblivion.  The only thing on the mortal plain to contain such power was an Emerald, making it a Dark Emerald.  And THAT means, Dark could absorb them into his being and complete his true form of Oblivion. 

The journal did say the prisons were in Las Vegas, which then was just a desert and not the neon paradise it is today.  Before Stromwell could do anything he was too impaired by the effects of exposing living tissue to the realm of the dead.  He soon became too feeble to do anything and was hit by a car and killed. 

Unfortunately, Las Vegas is NOW a neon paradise.  If this small batch of writing was to point him in the right direction, it could be anywhere.   The geographical changes over time, constant construction, and god knows what, could have disturbed, relocated, or otherwise remove the prisons from where they once rested. 

The riddle did say somewhere up high.  Dark got into the elevator and went up to the roof, mumbling to himself as it slowly made its approach.  Dark scoured the entire rooftop, stopping only to brush the gravel and dirt off the soles of his feet.  Now he was really mad.  Dark stood on the roof and cursed at his rotten luck.  Then he felt another vibe.  Dark glanced in the direction of the Luxor, which was right across the street.  He sighed, and snapped his fingers, making his shoes appear on his feet.  He leapt off the roof and landed near the Luxor, following the vibe.  

He finally felt the climax of the vibe when he reached the Luxor pyramid.  He looked around until he found riddle number two.  This was beginning to get annoying, as he still couldn't figure them out. 

Dark finally gave up and went back inside to rest up.

Come the next morning, they were off again in the Viper. 

"Since it's sooooooo damn hot today, I figured we'd hit the 'Wet and Wild'!  No it isn't a strip club; it's a water park!  That's why we're in our swimsuits!" Rex showed that he was in his blue swimsuit and Cindy was in her two-piece suit, which was green. 

Dark Sonic remained clothed, as the water boils when he's in it.  He had to man the camera anyways. 

"They say that there is over 2 MILLION gallons of water going through a high tech filtering system.  And August first was the start of 'Free Pass Week', of which I have one.  Watch as 20 toes play footsie in the pool!" Rex said, kissing Cindy.

Dark Sonic sighed from the back seat.  He hated this lovey scene.  Sure he was glad Rex had a girl and all, but why does he have to have all 

that love around him?  He was the opposite, after all. That and he was still distracted by last night's events.

When the car arrived at the park, everyone got out and went inside. 

Rex snapped a few pics before getting in the pool.  "Here's a pool!"         

"Look at the fun they're having! Let's play sweetie!" Rex said to Cindy, and they both began messing around in the pool, trying not to get too racy for the public.

Dark Sonic slipped off his sandals and wandered around with the camera, leaving the two lovebirds alone.  He decided to have some fun at others expense. 

"Did you know the 'Der Stucka' water slide is the fastest and tallest slide in the world?  It has a seventy-six foot, seventy-degree drop to a 100-foot long runway.  It also is named after the World War 2 bomber plane.  Who would have thought that fun would have a name from carnage?" Dark Sonic said, laughing. 

"Look a post card shop!" Dark said, grabbing one and holding it up to the camera.  "Not a bad aerial shot. And a good map to have some fun!" Dark said.

Dark came back to see Rex and Cindy lounging at the Suntan Lagoon.  He turned around, looked into the camera, and smiled as he saw the picnic area.  He felt more strange vibes and immediately ran into the restrooms.  There, he saw a strange riddle written on the wall in tiny letters.  No one else seemed to notice it, but that's because they weren't looking hard enough. 

He read it and cursed, spinning on his bare feet and storming out.  This was the third riddle he had come across, and once again, it remained unsolved.  Why couldn't he solve these riddles?

Dark adjusted his "Casino Staff" shirt and walked out into the sandy volleyball area, kicking up the sand with his toes.  He wondered if one of the emeralds could be buried right in front of him.  Then he wondered why the other sixteen demons inside him couldn't detect the others of their kind?

Shoving his bare hands into his blue short pockets, he walked off back to Rex and Cindy, thinking of a way to finally win. 

Later in the afternoon, they decided to do something fun.  Rex changed into his regular outfit minus the hardhat, Dark now wore his shoes without socks and the same shirt and shorts, and Cindy wore her favorite blue tank top, shorts, and sneakers.

"We're here, live, at the Stratosphere Tower to go on the best ride in town!  The 'Big Shot' puts the nearby 'High Roller' coaster to shame!  You go to the top of the tower, 1,149 FEET above the ground!  Then you get into this big slingshot contraption that launches you an additional 160 FEET above the roof, where you freefall back down!" Rex said pointing up to the top of the staggering tower.

Dark suddenly felt yet another vibe, and found the fourth riddle.  He cursed again, knowing that it was just like the last time.  If only he knew the locations, he could easily get some sucker to figure out the hiding places.  

It was obvious that the "Morning star" would be located somewhere very close by, maybe in this very building, but where it was exactly remained to be seen.

After getting scared out of their wits (and Dark finding the shoe that flew off his foot), they went off for lunch. 

The video finally stopped.  Dark Sonic put down the remote and smiled.  "I think that's a definite take," he laughed.


	3. Kevin's Opportunity of a Lifetime

"Kevin's Opportunity of a Lifetime"

"Son?" shouted Carl Henderson up the stairs.  "Can you come down here?  Your mother and I would like to talk to you!"

Kevin Henderson sighed.  He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.  Every time his mother or father said those words, he knew it was something serious.  Kevin saved the fanfic he was typing on his upgraded laptop and shut it down.  He got up and walked out of his room.

A large bay window greeted Kevin before he reached the stairs.  Kevin briefly glanced out at his front lawn and beyond.  The sun was peacefully shining down on the city of Kansas City, Kansas.  Not too far away, to the east, the muddy Missouri River sent barges and other boats to their destinations.  Beyond the river, the few skyscrapers of Kansas City, Missouri peeked over the smaller buildings.  

When Kevin reached the stairs, he stopped and admired the ceiling.  He remembered all the confusion and aggravation his parents went through when they all moved here a year ago.  The retrieval of their furniture, property issues, problems with the mortgage payments…all that was soon ironed out, and they became used to the house.  Most of the reward money from Stromwell's treasure was used for paying for the house.  The rest went to Kevin and Katie's college funds, Carl and Diane's retirement account, and other areas of payment.

"Kevin?" called his father.  

Kevin made his way down the stairs.  His dark brown, almost black, hair was tinted with bleached blonde on the tips.  His brown eyes stared down at his parents, who sat on the sofa.  The coffee table, recliner, and big screen TV (bought with the reward money) stood nearby.

Carl and Diane Henderson both received well-paying jobs once they settled down in the city.  They were always happy and optimistic, but now, judging by the looks on Carl and Diane's faces, Kevin knew something was up.  

"What's going on?" asked Kevin as he sat down in the easy-chair.  "Did someone die or something?"

"Oh no, Kevin," said Diane.  "In fact, it concerns you."

Kevin looked curious and confused.

"You see, son," said Carl.  Both parents looked like they had a hard time trying to speak.  "We know you'll be heading for college next month."

Kevin was recently accepted into the University of Kansas last month and received a good scholarship.  Nevertheless, his parents were hesitant about letting him live in Lawrence, Kansas, which was where the campus was located.

"Look, guys," said Kevin.  "If it's about the distance, don't worry.  I'll only be thirty miles away to the west.  I'm sure you'll…"

"It's not that, sweetheart," said Kevin's mother.

"Kevin," said Carl.  "You're eighteen now, and to us, that means you're an adult.  You now have a wide range of opportunities available to you, and your mother and I want to see if you understand just how important that is.  Do you think that you can be a responsible adult now?"

Kevin had never been asked a question like that before.  He didn't know what to say.  He looked at his parents with a look of seriousness.

"Yes, I know I have a huge responsibility now, and, well, I'm confident that I can…enforce it, or whatever."

"You sure, son?" asked Carl.

"C'mon, Dad," said Kevin.  "You know I can.  What's this all about anyway?"

"We want you to have this."  Carl brought his hand from behind his back and gave Kevin an envelope.  

Kevin looked at his parents for a moment before opening the envelope.  Inside was a large greeting card that said "Congratulations!" on it in bright letters.  Kevin opened the card.  Inside was a bunch of hand-written praises by his parents about graduating from high school and entering college.  Kevin suddenly saw a piece of paper in a pocket on the card.  Kevin took it out and his jaw dropped.  In his hand was a check for $1,000.

"It's what was left of the reward money," said Carl.  "We want you to have it."  He looked at his wife, who was nearly in tears.  Carl continued, "Son, you know that childhood dream of yours?  Well, since you're an adult now, we've decided to make that dream come true."

Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing.  Ever since he had been a little boy, Kevin had always wanted to take a cross-country car trip.  Now his parents had given him permission to carry out that dream.

"You mean…" stuttered Kevin.  "You want me to go anywhere in the U.S. I want?  Even Hawaii?"

"Let's not cross any oceans, Kev," said Carl.  

Kevin head was spinning.  This was every teenager's dream!  He looked at his parents and said, "Is this some sort of test?  Like those Indian boys who go out in the woods and become a man?"

"It certainly sounds like it, doesn't it?" joked Carl.  "Consider this your 'becoming a man', son."

"Yeah," agreed Kevin.  He gave his parents a huge hug.  His mother was crying and Kevin felt like crying himself, but he never was one to show his feelings much.

Just then, Katie came running into the room.  She was 12 and starting seventh grade in the fall.  "Can I come too?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry," said Diane to her daughter.  "This is something Kevin wants to do by himself."

"Actually," said Kevin.  "Can I bring Sandy with me, please?"

Carl sighed.  "You two have such a close bond, don't you?  I don't see why not."

Kevin smiled.  Of course, he still hadn't told his parents that he could talk to Sandy, and Katie was smart enough now to keep that a secret.

"When can I leave?" asked Kevin.

"Whenever you're ready," answered Carl.

Three days later, Kevin took one last look at his room.  His bed, his desk, and his beloved laptop… he would have to leave behind. 

At his feet was Sandy.  She was still the same pink-furred dog who was the same breed as Courage…except she was a bit more mature.  She now wore a petite tank-top…for obvious reasons.

Sandy looked up and Kevin.  Kevin looked down at her.  "I can't believe this is really happening," said Kevin.

"I know," replied Sandy.

"Well, even though I had dreamed of going by myself, I'm glad I won't be alone."

"Yeah.  It would get kind of boring here."

For the past few days, Kevin and Sandy had scoured the atlas, searching all over the United States for the perfect place to visit.  After a lot of debate, they finally decided on the most thrilling, the most exciting, glamorous, and fun city in the entire country.

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kevin grabbed his final piece of luggage and walked by his sister's room.  His eye caught sight of Katie's closet.  Somewhere in there was Mr. Furry, the teddy bear that had been at the center of "Operation Nowhere" eighteen months ago.  Katie, of course, outgrew Mr. Furry and was placed on the top shelf of the closet…a final resting place, of sorts.

Kevin made his way down to the front door.  When he emerged onto the front walk, his parents and Katie were waiting for him.  

"Well, I'm off!" said Kevin.  "Where's the car?"

"Ah, yes," said Carl.  "There's something else we needed to mention.  The day before yesterday, your mother and I traded in the car you took to Perfection.  We still have the family car, but for you, we wanted to give you something special.  Here."

Carl reached out and gave his son a car key on a ring.

"Wh-what's it for?" asked a bewildered Kevin.

Carl turned around and brought out the garage door opener.  "See for yourself," he said.  He pushed the button and the garage opened.

"Oh my god," whispered Kevin.

Standing in the garage, with its headlights reflecting the morning sun, was a red, 2003 Ford Mustang…Kevin's dream car.  Kevin immediately went into a wild fit of whooping and hollering before running into his car and pulling out onto the driveway.  After a volley of thanks to his parents, Kevin loaded up the car and said farewell to his family.

"Be sure to call us everyday," said Diane.

"I will, Mom."

"Think manly thoughts, son," joked Carl.

"Dad," groaned Kevin with a smile.

"Bye, Kevin," said Katie.  She threw her arms around her brother's neck and patted Sandy on the head.  "Don't let anything weird happen, okay?"

"Oh, I fear the best is yet to come," joked Kevin…even though he didn't know how right he was.

Once on the interstate, Kevin revved the engine on his new Mustang.  It was an amazing sound.  Kevin still couldn't believe this was actually his car.  

"Las Vegas, here we come!!!" shouted Kevin, before letting out a howl.  "Let's see, I've got my gas card, my traveler's checks, extra money, and…"  

Kevin was suddenly stopped by the expression on Sandy's face.  She had a look of loneliness and sadness on her face.  It didn't take long for Kevin to figure out why.

"You miss him, don't you?" asked Kevin.  "You haven't seen him in weeks."

Sandy nodded sadly.  He cast her teary-eyed face at Kevin and asked, "Could we please stop at Nowhere and…?"

"Of course, we can let him come," said Kevin.

"Really?"

"Hell, yeah.  Things would be kinda boring for you over there without some company."

Sandy leaped out of her seat and hugged Kevin.

"Whoa!  Watch it, Sandy!  You almost made me swerve."

"Sorry."

The red Mustang zoomed off towards the west.  Destination: Las Vegas.  Objective: To have as much freakin' fun as possible.

However, Kevin and Sandy had no clue just how much "fun" awaited them.     


	4. Courage Heads to Vegas

"The Agents Settle In and Courage Heads to Vegas"

Dark Sonic paced around and around the dim video room.  A red glow surrounded his body as his face was etched in a permanent frown.  The riddles kept bouncing around inside his evil mind.

"What do they mean?"  That question popped up every other second.  Dark was getting more than a little frustrated.  He needed to clear his mind, but that wouldn't do any good.

At last, he decided to read the riddles again, and to do that, he would have to project the riddles with his mind.

Concentrating hard, Dark Sonic created a mental image of the four riddles.  He turned to a plain white wall and closed his eyes. The red glow around his body grew brighter.

Within seconds, Dark opened his eyes and saw the first of four riddles displayed on the wall in black.  He read the riddle…

"_He who challenges this test_

_Stands much taller than the rest._

_Lucifer doth draws you near _

_For it is high that you must fear_"

He had read this riddle in the Wild Kard Hotel, the hotel that he and Rex set up here in Vegas as their headquarters for the Rex Show, as well as a way to cash in some extra cash-flow.  He had thought the riddle was referring to someplace high, so Dark had searched all the roofs of the Wild Kard and found nothing.  There were quite a few tall buildings in Las Vegas, as well as some nearby mountains.  Any one of them could hold the emerald.

Dark Sonic then waved his hand, changing the image like a projector, and glanced at the second riddle…

"_People's smiles will turn around _

_Once this next emerald is found_

_Where light can bend and matter change_

_The Leviathan shall be in range_"

This riddle really perplexed Dark Sonic. For one thing, he discovered this riddle in the grand Luxor hotel, which was right across the street from the Wild Kard. The Egyptian theme didn't quite fit well with the riddle itself.  Plus, "bending light" and "changing matter" was a real head-scratcher. "Water maybe……….?"

"Nah," Dark skipped that riddle and went to the next one…

"_He is much closer than you think_

_Satanic chants not writ in ink._

_Before your mind's pushed to the brink_

_Stay a while and have a drink_"

This was the riddle Dark found at the Stratosphere.  A drink…did that mean a bar or something?  There were HUNDREDS of bars in Vegas, so that couldn't be it.  Dark Sonic glanced at the final riddle, growing more angered.

"_From ancient times and ancient places_

One-eyed men and sideways faces 

_The final emerald, the final feast_

_Is in the eye of the ancient beast_"

This riddle came from the bathroom at Wet and Wild.  The "ancient" references were a mind-boggle, and the beasts could mean anything from Siegfried and Roy's tigers to Wayne Newton!

"DAMNIT!" 

In a sudden outburst of frustration, Dark Sonic pounded his fist into the wall.  The riddles immediately disappeared.

Dark rested his forehead on his fist, now implanted in the wall.  He knew that the answers to these riddles were so simple they were probably right there in front of him.  However, the riddles could not be deciphered by such an evil entity, like Dark Sonic.  They were designed to be solved those who had pure hearts and the power to destroy the emeralds, or at least stop their power.    

At that moment, Rex opened the door to the room.

"There you are, you little bastard!" shouted Rex at Dark Sonic, as he crossed his arms.  "Where in the subterranean paradise you call home have you been?  I've been looking all over for you!  And what are you doing in the dark?" Rex flipped the light switch, making Dark Sonic flinch in the light as he hissed like a vampire.  

"You really wanna know?" asked Dark suspiciously, shielding his eyes.

Rex raised his metal finger like he was about to say something, but he instead used it to scratch his muzzle and got to thinking of what Dark Sonic COULD do in the dark.  

"Never mind," he finally said, waving his robotic hand like he was brushing crumbs.  "Hey, listen, I need to tell you something you're not gonna believe!"

"What now?" griped Dark, rolling his red eyes. "If it's about that damn car or your girlfriend again, I don't wanna hear about it."

"No, it's not that," said Rex, slightly more excited than before, leaping like a giddy schoolgirl.  "You know who's working the front desk of our hotel now?"

"It had better not be you, 'cause you're just gonna scare away the customers," Dark remarked, crossing his arms.

"Of course not!  How dumb do you think I am?" Rex said, waving his arm.

Dark Sonic was about to respond, but Rex cut him off by whispering a name in Dark's ear.

"He's at the front desk?!!!" shouted Dark, looking at Rex.

"Yeah!  And guess who's working across the street at the Luxor!"  Rex whispered a few more names into Dark's ear.

"You're shittin' me!" said Dark Sonic.

"Go see for yourself!  Now, come on.  Card Trick wants us to set up some more pool tables next to the casino," Rex said, thumbing in the direction of the door. Rex raced to the door and ran out of the room.

Dark Sonic couldn't believe his luck!  Some friends of Courage were working within a stone's throw from where Dark was.  And to top it off, they were the same friends responsible for that boarded up lab Dark was at a few weeks back.

He began to get a gut feeling that was telling him that Courage himself was going to be stopping by very soon.  As Dark Sonic walked out, that feeling began getting stronger by the second. He smiled, and tented his fingers evilly.  Someone with a pure enough heart to solve the riddles!

"Excellent!" Dark Sonic said, glancing about.

So, who IS working at the front desk of the Wild Kard Hotel?  Well, believe it or not folks, it's none other than ex-secret agent Chris Gammon!

Chris was nodding off to sleep at the front desk with his right elbow on the desk, and his chin in his right hand.  He leaned over and woke up again.  He wished he had gotten some more sleep the night before.

Chris had driven into Vegas the same week his other secret agent partners traveled to Vegas.  The former agents wanted to go their separate ways, but still remain in close contact.  It wasn't until a week later that Agent R called Chris and told him that he, D.M., and Barsby were all working at the Luxor Hotel and Casino!  Not wanting to be left out, Chris went to go find a job, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any jobs that were available.

Upon leaving the Luxor, Chris saw a fairly new hotel across the street called the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino.  Undaunted, Chris decided to find a job there instead, so he could be close by to his friends.

The only weird thing about it was the job interview.  He was sitting in a room facing a one-way mirror (he couldn't see who was on the other side) and it reminded him of when he was an agent in Washington…only he was the one being interrogated.  The voice on the other side received his information and told him that the man who was at the front desk had quit yesterday (or maybe he didn't quit…hmmm…) and needed a temporary replacement.  Feeling slightly suspicious, Chris accepted the job. 

This feeling of suspicion only grew, as it seemed this casino sprang up overnight.  And the only identification about Chris' interviewer was that he was the owner of the Wild Kard Hotel. (One guess.)

Chris sighed.  He hadn't received a visitor for hours.  Compared to the other hotels, this one wasn't attracting many customers at all!  He figured it was because it was so new it didn't have time to advertise or something.  

Still, there were currently about six people staying at the hotel, and they were only the owners and staff, plus one guest. Very strange, as none of them seemed to care about the lack of customers.

Chris eventually got tired of staring at the poster advertising a group called "Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew", so he reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.  He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

Across the street, at the Luxor, Agent Jonathan R's cell phone rang.  He was currently working the front desk of the Luxor, which was streaming with people constantly.  After his shift, he operated the electrical systems around the hotel.  

Jonathan flipped open his cell phone.  "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Chris."

"Hey!  How's business?"

"Aw, kinda slow.  We just had some guy from Reno check in a few hours ago and that was it.  If this place doesn't do some serious overhaul in the advertising department, this whole place is gonna go down the clink."

"Yeah…funny thing though," said Jonathan.  "I didn't even see this place on any of the Vegas maps.  It's not even online anywhere!  I'm telling you, there's something a bit out of the ordinary about that place."

Chris sighed.  "Well, I gotta go.  Talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure, Chris.  Bye." 

Jonathan turned off his phone.  He looked around at the lobby.  People were everywhere, walking around, looking at tour maps, and gazing at the plants that grew inside the room.  Out the door, Jonathan could see people staring at the big sphinx that sat in front of the property like a giant watchdog.  

Jonathan then looked to his right and saw a familiar face pushing an empty baggage cart.

"Hey, Gareth!" yelled Jonathan.

Former agent Gareth Paul Barsby stopped and waved at Jonathan.  He parked his cart and walked over to the desk.  "Hey, Jonathan.  What's up?"

"Nothing but business, as usual.  I had no idea this place could be so crowded."

Gareth nodded.  "Well, the Blue Man Group performs here pretty much every night, so why wouldn't it be?  Did you catch their performance last night?"

"Nah, I had to work the late shift again."

"Oh, you need to check it out.  It's like nothing you've ever seen or heard before."  

"I know, I know, I'll get to it," said Joe.

Just then, Gareth saw a customer struggling with a huge suitcase.  "I'd better go help her out.  Later!"  Gareth then grabbed a cart and assisted the lady with her luggage.

Jonathan signed a few more people into the front desk.  Then, during a break, a familiar voice said, "Hey, Jonathan!"  

It was former agent Darkest Moon.  She was a bellboy at the hotel, but she referred to herself as a "bellgirl."  She usually operated the elevators and assisted people with their luggage.  It wasn't a very glamorous job, so she sometimes went off to the pool to swim and relax.

"Hey, D.M.!" said Jonathan with a pinch of excitement.  "How's your new job?"

"Really cool," said D.M.  "You mean the weirdest people in those elevators.  Hey, by the way, yesterday, I got a five-dollar raise!  Guess how much I'm making now!"

"Okay," said Jonathan.  He paused for a second and smiled at D.M.  "How about we make this interesting?  If I don't guess how much your current salary is, I'll help you man your shift during my break.  If I do guess your salary…you have to tell me your first name.  Deal?"

D.M. smiled.  "This gambling sure has gone to your head, huh?"

Jonathan shrugged.  "What can I say?  This is Vegas.  Now, c'mon, deal?"

"OK, deal," said D.M.  She shook Jonathan's hand.

"Let's see," thought Jonathan.  "If I add five dollars to your estimated current salary, you should be getting…$40.95 an hour, give or take a few cents."

"Wow," said D.M. with an amazed expression.  "How did you know that?"

"Well, it takes a keen eye and a lot of luck, D.M.  Plus, I've memorized all the job salaries here."

D.M. hit Jonathan lightly in the arm.

"Now, c'mon, you made a deal," said Jonathan to D.M.

D.M. sighed.  "Okay, I give in.  My first name is actually Yesenia."

"No, really," said Jonathan.

"I'm serious!" 

"Oh," said Jonathan.  "That's a very nice name.  What is it?  European?"

"It's Caribbean."

"Ah…cool!"

"Yeah, but, uh…"

"I know," nodded Jonathan.  "The name 'D.M.' has kind of a nice ring to it.  You don't mind if I keep calling you that, do you?"

"Oh, of course not," said D.M. sweetly.

At the moment, an employee told D.M. to get back to work.

"Well, gotta go," said D.M.

"Okay.  Bye, Yesenia, I mean, D.M."

After that conversation, she left.  Alone again, Jonathan was met by a deluge of college kids.  Jonathan sighed as he sought out the people in charge.  Things certainly weren't this hectic when he was with Courage…at least, in the physical sense.

And speaking of Courage, he was now sitting in the passenger seat next to Sandy in Kevin's new Mustang.

Kevin couldn't have picked a better time to go pick up Courage.  Turned out, Eustace and Muriel were planning on going on their fiftieth anniversary vacation, and needed someplace to put the dog.  Kevin simply asked the old couple if he could take care of Courage while they were gone.

Eustace, who had been whining about the trip for days, was miffed by Kevin's request.  

"I still say a kennel would be better than whatever place he's going to," Eustace had grumbled.

But Muriel was delighted when Kevin had offered to take Courage with him to Vegas.

"I'm glad that he'll be with people he knows," said Muriel.

Courage, of course, was more than a little glad to see Kevin and Sandy again.  Sandy flat out asked why he wasn't responding to her calls the last few weeks.  Courage apologized over and over again, and explained that their phone line was cut for days and there was no way to keep in touch with anyone.  Sandy understood and gave Courage a hug.

So that was how Kevin and the two dogs ended up driving down the freeway towards Vegas.  Kevin had turned on the radio and some song by Soundgarden was blaring throughout the car.  Sandy told Kevin to turn it down and he obeyed.  He jammed to the song as Courage and Sandy lay back in the seat.

"Are you excited about going to Vegas?" asked Sandy.

"Mmm-hmm!" answered Courage.  He had always been curious by the marvelous lights and entertainment from that city.

"Me too," added Kevin.  "This is like a dream come true."

Upon the word "dream", Courage's expression changed slightly.  Sandy noticed it and asked what was wrong.

"Nothing," said Courage, but eventually he explained that he had been having a weird dream for the past few nights.  

In the dream, Courage woke up on a footrest in front of a large fireplace.  He was at this dinner party at night in an expensive, modern-designed house on a hillside.  Adults were walking all over the place and having conversations with each other.  

Courage was feeling uneasy, and noticed some guests were asking this woman to play a song on the guitar.  The woman sat down and began strumming the instrument.  The woman had wavy, blonde hair that covered half of her face, red lips, and wore a sparkling green dress and high heels.  As the woman's foot playfully nudged his chin, Courage was surprised to hear the woman say that she was going to sing about him!  

"This song is dedicated to that cowardly dog Courage. Or as the French say, Cour-age!"

Courage sat there as the lyrics swept through the air around him.  His blood temperature increased to the point that steam was coming out of his ears!  However, before he got too excited, he could see strange things going on around him.  He saw a shadow of Eustace along a wall, so Courage ran off and hid outside.  Looking back, the woman still serenaded him.  

Courage looked around and saw a group of heart-throbbing figures lurch towards him. He tried hiding under a pool cover, but a guest grabbed him and carried him inside.  

Courage tried to alert another guest, but firey hands stretched out of the fireplace right behind the lovely lady on the guitar.  Courage ran for cover, which turned out to be a white bear rug.  No sooner had Courage realized this than the bear's jaw clamped down on his arm!  Courage ran around in pain and stopped to see some guests' faces turn into fanged beasts!

Really frightened now, Courage ran back onto the velvet footrest and noticed the beautiful woman staring at him as she sang.  She wrapped up her song as she leaned over and scratched Courage under his chin.  Courage lost his balance and flopped onto his side.  As the party guests clapped and applauded, the woman scratched Courage's belly, which felt so good, that Courage fell right back to sleep with a smile on his face.

And then he woke up.

Sandy had quirked an eyebrow throughout the telling of that…interesting dream.

"That's a very…odd dream," she finally said.

"Yeah," agreed Kevin at the wheel.  "Sounds like my kind of dream."

Sandy and Courage just sighed.

The car continued down the interstate, all of them blissfully unaware of the nightmare that will engulf their world. 

******

Authors Note: Believe it or not, you can actually view Courage's dream online!  Go to cartoonnetwork.com, click on "watch", then click "video clips", and then scroll down to where it says "Cour-age".  Make sure you have RealPlayer before viewing it.  It's hilarious!


	5. Ace of Hearts: Courage and Sandy

Ace of Hearts: Courage and Sandy

(By the way, the link at the end of the previous chapter has absolutely no significance to this story.  I only wanted you all to check out the video.  Sorry for the confusion.)

All day, Kevin Henderson, Courage, and Sandy had been driving down the freeway.  They passed rest stops, tourist traps, and typical "gas and motel" towns.  It seemed like an eternity before the car finally came upon the "Las Vegas ten miles ahead" sign.      

"Alright!" exclaimed Kevin.  "Almost there, guys!"

Courage and Sandy woke up from their nap and rubbed their eyes.  Kevin repeated his exclamation and the two dogs were enthralled.

"Wait a minute!" said Sandy suddenly.  "Which hotel are we going to be staying at?"

"Don't worry, I've got it covered," said Kevin.  "You didn't think I'd plan to go to Vegas without knowing where to stay, would you?"

Kevin took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to Sandy.

"What is it?" asked Courage.

Sandy opened it.  It was a printout of a webpage.  "It's the credit card receipt of our hotel reservations at the Luxor Hotel and Casino!" she said in a state of amazement.

"Yep," admitted Kevin.  "It was a tough decision, but I figured, 'hey, I want to be as far to one side of the Strip as possible.'  And besides, the whole 'Ancient Egypt' thing will be a taste of something new for us, right?"

Sandy nodded and Courage smiled slightly.  He felt it wasn't wise to bring up that "mummy episode" that he had gone through once.

The car soon rounded a curve on a high hill and immediately faced the grand city of Las Vegas.

"Wow," said the three car passengers.

The city was sprawled out over a wide valley.  It wasn't dark enough yet for the lights to come on, but so far the view was spectacular.  Tall buildings towered over the downtown area, hotels poked out of the smaller buildings below, and the Stratosphere hotel towered over the city itself, just like the Space Needle in Seattle.

"This is amazing," said Sandy.  Courage whistled agreement.

"I have a feeling we're gonna have some fun here for sure!" said Kevin.

With that, he gunned the engine and raced into the outskirts, hoping that a police car wasn't on his tail.  He hadn't gotten a ticket yet, despite his excessive speeding.

The red Mustang stopped and parked in the Luxor's enormous parking lot.  Nearby, airplanes were lifting off and landing at the Las Vegas International Airport.  

They herded out of the car and Kevin slammed the door with aggravation.  They were only half a mile from the hotel before that cop on the motorcycle pulled them over.  

"A hundred and fifty bucks wasted," muttered Kevin.  He let out his frustrations on the parking bump.  

"Calm down," said Sandy as Courage looked on nervously.  "At least you'll be able to pay it within the next two weeks.  We won't be here that long."

"Yeah, I guess you're right.  Besides," grinned Kevin.  "Maybe a little go around at the casino with help pay for it."

"Are you old enough?" cut in Courage.

"Only on way to find out.  C'mon."

Kevin, Sandy and Courage headed for the lobby.  As they walked, they admired the tropical scenery, the Egyptian statues and fountains, and, of course, the huge black pyramid, with its bright spotlight shining upwards towards the newly falling night sky.  Courage was especially eager to get inside.  He had just caught sight of a large golden sphinx sitting regally near the parking lot.  It was the largest of all the sphinxes on the complex.  It's leering glare made Courage whine before he caught up to the others.

Kevin and the two dogs finally opened the front doors.  A long line to the counter greeted them, and they knew they were in for a long stay.  As the line progressed, Kevin noticed that some of the guests were turning around and heading back out the front door.  Kevin didn't like the looks on those people's faces and he feared the worst.

Finally, Kevin walked up to the front desk.  The front clerk was picking something up off the floor behind his desk, so Kevin could see who he was. 

"Excuse me," said Kevin.  "We'd like two rooms please."

"I'm sorry, sir.  All the rooms are full," grumbled the clerk.  "You'll have to-…" He stood up just then and suddenly recognized the face in front of him. 

"Kevin? Kevin Henderson?!" Jonathan asked surprised. 

"Agent R?!" Kevin said equally surprised. 

"What are you doing here???" the two men asked at the same time.  They shook each other's hand.

"I'm on vacation," said Kevin quickly.  "How about you?"

"Oh, I got out of the government business, just like I said I would, remember?"

"Agent R, how could I forget?  You had me tied up in that attic, remember?  No hard feelings, right?"

"'Course not.  And I'm a civilian now, so call me Jonathan.  All my friends do."

"Okay," said Kevin.  He was still getting over the shock of meeting with his former-agent friend.  

There was an awkward silence before Jonathan leaned over the desk and saw Courage and Sandy.

"Hey there," he said and waved at the two canines.  Courage and Sandy were, of course, surprised to see Jonathan again and waved shyly.  Jonathan noticed that Courage had developed some extra fur on top of his head, and Sandy had "developed" too and was obviously wearing a tanktop.  (Courage had, of course, noticed too, but was acting surprisingly mature about it…at least, mature enough to not stare at Sandy's body too often.)

"Are the other agents here too?" asked Kevin.

"Oh yeah!  All my friends are here!" Jonathan said.  He motioned the people behind Kevin to move over to the other desk clerk.

"Cool," said Kevin.  He looked slightly concerned as he said, "What's that you said about all the rooms being full?" 

"Well, this is the peak season of tourism here in Vegas.  Sometimes these things happen."

"But I made reservations online a few days ago!"

"Well, that's the Internet for you," said Jonathan.  "Really, I'd give you a room if I could, but there just aren't any vacancies right now."

Kevin sighed, sounding very disappointed that he couldn't stay in the fabulous Luxor.

"It's been pretty chaotic around here," continued Jonathan.  

"Especially since the Blue Man Group is performing tonight…again," said another familiar voice.  Kevin and Jonathan looked over to see none other than Gareth approaching. 

"Wow, what is this?  Some kind of reunion special?" Kevin joked, eliciting a laugh from the others. 

"Could be!" another voice said in a cheery tone.  Everyone saw D.M. enter the group with a bright smile. 

"Nice to see you again D.M." Kevin said nervously.  He had a feeling that D.M. still had a slight crush on him since their last adventure.

"Well," Jonathan said, "now that we all know each other again, may I recommend where you guys can stay?"

"Well, sure!  Anyplace is good, I guess," Kevin said.  Courage and Sandy nodded in agreement. 

"Why not try that new hotel across the street?" D.M. said.  "It seemed to spring up overnight anyways." She pointed out the front door to the twin buildings joined by a neon sign. 

"Okay.  Hey, where's Gammon?" spoke up Kevin.

"Oh yeah, Chris works there too!" Gareth added.

Kevin and the dogs were still amazed that all their old friends were in the same place at the same time.  Almost like it was destined to be or something. 

They got in their car and drove across the street to the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino.  The neon sign let off a queer glow that left Courage with a sickening feeling in his stomach.

As Kevin locked his car, they were unaware of the cameras watching them…or the being watching them. 

Dark Sonic laughed as he saw Courage himself standing there in the parking lot. 

"This is perfect.  All I have to do is get him to solve the riddles.  Then I'm off!  But if I'm busy collecting the gems, who will keep Courage and his friends from stopping me?"

Dark thought for a moment then a smile spread across his face.

"HEY, REX!  GUESS WHO'S IN TOWN!!!" Dark Sonic yelled.  His smile grew wider when he realized the possibilities.

"This is gonna be fun!" Dark Sonic said as Rex approached the monitors.  Dark snickered and pointed to the screen.  The look on Rex's face said it all. 

"That sonuvabitch has got a lot of fuckin' nerve showing up here!  After he made an ass of me in Perfection!" Rex snapped, slamming his meal fist on the console.  "Well, I anticipated meeting him again soon!  Although much later than this!  But I have a little surprise hidden away in storage somewhere.  Something I've wanted to use the next time we meet!" Rex said evilly.  He had something wicked up his sleeves, for sure. 

Meanwhile, Card Trick the rabbit was startled by a voice in his ear.  It was Rex calling him over his headset. 

"What's up?" CT asked, adjusting the volume. 

"Max, I got something I want you to do.  See the kid and two dogs over there by the door?" Rex asked.

CT looked over to the door and saw Kevin and the dogs looking around outside. 

"Yea.  What about 'em?" CT asked.

"Call them over to your table.  I got a plan………." Rex said. 

Kevin walked into the lobby and was amazed by the thumping bass of the house band, and dazed by the flashing and sparkling lights.  Courage and Sandy also checked out the new-age furniture and furnishings of the room.

"I hope this place isn't too pricey," said Kevin as he walked over to the front desk.  To his surprise, there was no one there. 

"Now what?" asked Sandy.

Kevin looked around and saw a doorway to his left.  He looked inside and found a huge room filled with one-armed bandits (a.k.a. slot machines) and blackjack tables.  Kevin looked over and saw a rabbit signaling him over to his dealing table. 

"Um, guys?" Kevin said to Courage and Sandy.  "There seems to be a large rabbit motioning me to come over to his table.  What do I do?"

"Well, Kevin, you're the one who wanted to 'live the casino life'," said Sandy.

Kevin sighed and entered the casino.  "I suppose I could play one game, then we go find the desk clerk.  Just one game, okay?"

Courage and Sandy followed Kevin to the card table.

"What do you say kid?  Against the house?  Double or nothing?" Card Trick asked shuffling the cards. 

"Sure, I guess that's what we're here for." Kevin said, taking a seat.  He leaned over to the dogs and whispered, "Don't worry, I've read the rules on how to play this game." 

"Alrighty then.  Acey, Deucey, One-Eyed Jacks, One-Eyed King, Suicide King, and Jokers are wild!  Sixes draw an extra card, and sevens are the Bug!  Bet your black!" CT said.  This garnered very confused looks from Kevin and the dogs.

"You sure you read the rules right?" asked Sandy to Kevin.

"Just joking," said CT, with a smile of confidence.  "A lot of people come in here trying to count the cards, yet it doesn't work when I can count them too."

"Uh-huh," said Kevin.  "Well, now all we have to do is wait for a second person to play.  Then we're all set."

As if on cue, a man suddenly came over and sat next to Kevin.  He was about Kevin's age, around six feet tall, had green eyes, and brown hair that was so dark it was almost black.  He wore tennis shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt that said, "Reno, Nevada: The Biggest Little City in the World" on it.  He asked the dealer if he could be dealt in. 

"Well, speak of the devil!  Here's tonight's high roller, Tortured Artist!" CT said, introducing him to the newcomers. 

"Hey," said Tortured Artist as he shook Kevin's hand.  He didn't seem to notice Courage and Sandy "My name's Christopher Lee Armerding.  But I like my nickname."

"Christopher Lee…didn't he play Dracula once?" CT asked.  No one laughed. 

"And Saruman and a Bond villain and…well, like anyone cares," said Kevin.

CT quirked an eyebrow.  "I forgot to ask, are you eighteen or older?"

"Yeah, I'm eighteen.  What about you?" asked Kevin to Tortured Artist.

"I'm nineteen," he answered.  "So, what say we make a friendly wager?  Surely you're feeling lucky?" Tortured Artist asked Kevin. 

 Kevin looked at the dogs, who looked at each other in confusion. 

"Sure," Kevin said with a smug look on his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Why, how about your car?" Tortured Artist said pointing to the red Mustang outside.  

"You're kidding," said Kevin with zero amusement. 

"Come on, I won't really take it away from you!  You got to get used to making big bets if you want to be successful!" Tortured Artist said with a smile.  "At least, that's how they do it in Reno…and here's even better!" 

Kevin sighed.  "Well, if it's for learning purposes, I'll do it," he said, plunking his key on the table. 

CT smiled. 

Sandy frantically tugged on Kevin's sock.  Kevin pretended to scratch Sandy behind the ear as she whispered, "Are you nuts?  What if you lose?"

"Didn't you hear the guy?  I'm not actually gonna lose the car," whispered Kevin.  "Worse comes to worse, I'll just pay $50 or so for good measure."  

Sandy still felt distrustful about the game and Courage was beginning to feel the same way.

Kevin sat up as CT said, "Okay people, the game's 7 card stud!  You know the deal so let's deal."

CT dealt to the two men and himself.  His smile grew, showing his rabbit buck teeth. 

Kevin and Tortured Artist looked at each other worried.  Card Trick appeared to be having too much fun with his card playing for some reason. 

The two men dropped their hands in succession, showing that Kevin only had two pairs, and Tortured Artist almost had a flush. 

CT dropped his hand, showing he had seven Aces!  He laughed and snapped up the keys, bolting off towards an exit.

"HEY!" yelled Kevin as he darted off after CT.  He threw open the door and was met by an empty hallway.

"That Sonuva…!" Kevin snarled.  He slammed the door, making a crack in the wall. 

"Sorry," Torture Artist said.  "I swear I didn't know he was gonna do that."

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Kevin said regaining his composure.  He saw Sandy cast an "I told you so" look at him.  Kevin ruffled his fingers through his hair.  "C'mon," said Kevin.

"Where are you going?" asked Tortured Artist.

"I'm gonna go complain to the front clerk.  Maybe he's back at his desk by now." 

CT was against the basement door, gasping for breath.  Once he could breathe again, he called Rex on the headset. 

"Operation Strand the Losers is completed!" CT said, still panting. 

"Good!  Now that they're stuck here, they have no choice but to face me again!" Rex said. 

Dark Sonic was looking over Rex's shoulder as the confused patrons made their way back to the lobby.  He smiled knowing that Courage was all his……….


	6. Tour de Kard

Tour de Kard

Kevin Henderson stormed into the lobby of the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino.  Right behind him were Courage, Sandy, and Tortured Artist.  Kevin thought that if ex-agent Chris Gammon was actually at the front desk, he knew he'd have to calmly explain to him the situation that had just occurred.  

A man with his back to Kevin was behind the front desk.  Kevin instantly recognized the man's stature to be that of Chris.  Kevin walked up to the desk, but before he could say anything, Chris turned around and faced him.

"Excuse me sir, have you…Kevin?  Kevin Henderson?!" 

"Yeah, hey, Chris.  Listen, I just…"

"Wow, this is such a freaky coincidence!  I swear, I was just thinking about you!  Hey, have you met Agent R and the others?"

"Yeah.  Anyway, I…"

"Y'know, if you need a room or anything at all, I…"

"CHRIS!" shouted Kevin.  "Something terrible just happened!"

Chris looked alarmed.  "What?"

"I don't know what kind of employees you got running around here, but apparently some rabbit guy ran off with my car keys in the casino and I'd like to know where he went."

"Oh, you mean Card Trick?  Gee, I can't believe he'd do something like that."  Chris looked at Tortured Artist.  "Were you there too?"

"Yeah, but I didn't make CT take his keys.  It was just a fake bet that got outta hand, I swear!"  

"Do you know where he went?" asked Kevin.

"He's probably in his room right now," said Chris.  "But I can't let you in until you sign in first."

"Oh yeah," said Kevin.  "Are there any rooms?"

Chris looked at him like he was nuts.

Tortured Artist said, "I'm the only other tenant here."

"You're kidding," said Kevin.

"I wish he was," said Chris.  He leaned in and motioned Kevin and Tortured Artist towards him.  Chris spoke in a low whisper.  "Personally, I think my boss is crazy.  I go into his office, and he's behind some two-way mirror, so I never saw him.  He says he needs a strong, able-bodied man to run his hotel.  Funny thing is, I had never even heard of this hotel or even seen it before!  It's as if it popped up overnight.  That's why there are so many vacancies; it's that new.  I'm no agent anymore, but my trained instincts tell me that this is very suspicious.  My boss must be insane or something."

Courage and Sandy overheard the entire thing.  Courage whined.  He could think of one or two beings who were that insane.  He shuddered and pushed the thoughts out of his mind.      

Hearing the whine, Chris leaned over and saw the two canines.  "Hey!  How are my two favorite canines?  Courage, great to see you again."  He looked over at Sandy's matured body.  "Hey, Sandy.  Something looks different on you since I last saw you."

Sandy didn't know whether to feel offended or flattered.  Courage and Kevin quirked an eyebrow at Chris.

"I'm just kidding.  My bad," said Chris in defense.

"You always know how to push the envelope, don't you, Chris?" sighed Kevin.

"It's what I do," smiled Chris.  "And, to change the subject, might I offer a discount on your stay here at the Wild Kard?"

"Hell yeah!" said Kevin.  He needed all the bargains he could get in this town.  He signed in his name and said, "So, where do we find this Card Trick?"

"First floor, room 13," said Chris.  "And one more thing."  He pointed to a poster on the wall.  "We have a little late-night entertainment tonight."

Kevin and the others turned and looked at the poster.  It showed a handsome guy standing behind five canines with leering expressions.  The caption read, "Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew.  Their first concert outside of Cali.  Tonight at 11 PM.  Free for hotel patrons." 

"Cool," said Kevin.  "That I gotta see."

"Hey, good luck with those keys, Kev," said Tortured Artist.  "I'm gonna go back to my room.  I'll see you at the concert, alright?"

"OK."

As Tortured Artist walked off, Courage saw some tiny letters on the poster.  He was amazed as he read, "Opening act, Baby DJ and Eve."  Courage immediately remembered that those were the alias names of none other than Molly and Janet, the girl and dog that went with him, Kevin, and Sandy to Perfection!

"Hey, Courage, you coming?" called Kevin.

Courage gulped as he followed Kevin and Sandy.  He wondered how many more surprises awaited him.

Minutes later, Kevin was knocking on door #13.  No one answered.  Kevin leaned against the door as Courage and Sandy looked on.  Kevin heard bed sheets being ruffled around inside and knocked on the door again, louder.

This time, Card Trick's voice was heard.  "Go away!  I'm busy!" he yelled.

Kevin, however, was determined to get his keys back, so he pounded on the door a third time.

"Oh, go see who it is, bunny," said a female voice from inside.

Kevin stood awkwardly outside the door, wondering what the heck was going on in there.  Courage and Sandy glanced at each other and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Just before he opened the door, Card Trick said, "I think I know who it is."  He opened the door and saw Kevin and the two dogs.  "Behold.  I was right."

Kevin glanced at Card Trick.  He was wearing only a purple robe.  Behind him, clothes were scattered around the bed, which was occupied by a blonde Vegas showgirl.  She was holding the covers up to her chest and looked rather flustered.

"Look, rabbit," said Kevin angrily.  "I want you to give me back my car keys right now, okay?"

"Hey, look, just give me a second to explain, buddy," said Card Trick.

"Alright," said Kevin, backing off.

"You see," said Card Trick.  "This hotel hasn't attracted a lot of guests since it was built.  My boss wants to be sure that all the hotel tenants feel like they belong here or something.  So, taking your car keys merely ensures you the right to feel more comfortable here.  The keys will be taken to the key storage area where all the tenants' keys are kept.  Then, when it's time for you to go, we'll return the keys to you.  That clear?"

Kevin stood there for a moment.  "What about my car?"

"Well, due to a lack of valet parking attendants, I personally drove your car into the underground garage and placed your luggage behind the front desk.  If you want to go somewhere, take public transportation or walk.  It's a nicer way to travel…and speaking of nice, how about I show around the hotel?"

"…Wha?"  Kevin was caught off-guard.

"It's the least I can do for my behavior earlier.  Please?"  Card Trick's eyes got all reflective and watery.

Kevin sighed.  "Fine, but just a brief tour, okay?"

Card Trick turned to the woman in his bed, "I'll be right back, Lily, I promise.  Don't go anywhere."  He closed the door and resumed his composure.  

Being guided through a mysterious hotel by a rabbit in a purple robe was definitely not how Kevin had pictured this vacation.

CT led them to the elevator where they descended back down to the first floor.  They boarded out, and CT got ahead of the group.  He walked past the lobby, opened the door to the right, and led the guests into the casino where they were earlier.  The green carpeting matched the green cover of the betting tables, and the walls were stucco-colored.  There were various shapes of neon lights hanging from the ceiling that Kevin never noticed before. 

"Go on, try your luck," CT said, gesturing to a slot machine.  Between the slot rows were strips of red carpeting, making it appear regal.  Some of the slot machines were those fancy Video Slots, and others were the traditional one-armed bandits.  Courage examined a video slot machine and noticed that instead of the traditional fruit and signs, this machine had letters on the rolls.  Courage hesitantly pulled the lever.  The tumblers spun and stopped in succession. 

R-E-X

This made Courage panic before he quickly passed it off as a coincidental combination of letters.  He was here to have fun, not to worry about someone that wasn't there.

Courage caught up with the group looking at a design on the back wall beyond the tables.  It was a giant King of Hearts, commonly known as the Suicide King due to the illusion of his sword passing through his head. 

"Behind this big guy here is an off limits room.  Employees only," CT said.  He led them past the tables and back to the elevator.  Next to the elevator was a blue door that said "Pool".

"I think this is self explanatory," CT said, eliciting a chuckle from the trio.  He pushed open the door and walked down the narrow hall between the fitting rooms.  The group followed, smelling the chlorine in the air.  The sky blue brick walls surrounded the white tile of the pool's floor. 

When they approached the pool, everyone followed CT's gaze to the ceiling to observe the massive fan that dominated the center.  It was the world's biggest ceiling fan.  While everyone looked at it in awe, Courage noticed a stenciled image that looked like someone familiar. 

Courage shook his head violently.  He kept telling himself that no one was here, and especially not the person he thought.  It was all in his head. 

As they walked out of the pool door, Chris was back at the front desk, nearly dozing off again. 

"HEY!" CT called, making Chris snap awake.  He spun to see CT waving at him and returned the gesture. 

"And the last stop on our tour is the Grand Ballroom," CT said, guiding them to the last door that was to the left of the elevator.  They went through the fancy door and were greeted by loud banging and noise pollution.  The ballroom was like a giant concert hall.  Chairs and booths were positioned before a large stage.  Several large windows surrounded the large ballroom, making them the only light during the performance other than from the Strip itself and stage setup.

As the group entered, they saw several people working on the setup for the show tonight.  Two of which stood out immensely. 

They appeared to be jokers, pulled straight out of a deck of cards.  They wore the classic black and red, flip-flop style jester uniforms, and one had a Spade and a Diamond around his eyes. 

"Those two guys are Jester and Phanto," CT said, introducing the two characters. 

Courage and Sandy both felt their sixth sense telling them that these guys were something threatening.  Before they could tell Kevin, they were separated by a guy wheeling in a cart-load of speakers. 

"Beep beep!" he shouted.  Courage caught a glance of the guy, a man in black. He wore all black, had on a black trench coat, and wore red shades.  His black hair was done up in Dragonball Z-style quills.  Courage felt even more bad vibes from this fellow.  Courage stumbled slightly and began feeling a little nauseous from all these sensations around him.

CT whistled for the three to follow him to the bar on the left side of he ballroom.  As they walked, Courage noticed a giant R in a circle that rested in the center of the floor.  He ran to catch up, ignoring the strange logo. 

"And here is where all the food and drinks are served.  The kitchen is behind the bar here," CT said, patting the wooden bar top.

The man in black seemed to slither up from the floor suddenly; much like Katz would…only this was smoother, almost like he was liquid.

"Name your poison, kid," he muttered, leaning on the bar.

"No thanks, I'm only eighteen," Kevin said.  CT shook his head too.

"Fine," the man said.  Just then, a walkie-talkie on his belt came to life.

"The bus has pulled up…the band is here," said the voice.

The man grabbed the walkie-talkie and said, "I'm on my way."  He turned to everyone, said, "Excuse me," and went back to the stage crew.  

The group filed out of the ballroom, leaving the crew to work.  Courage heard a metallic growl, but passed it off as a power drill.

"And one last stop before I forget," CT said boarding the elevator.  He took the three down to the basement.  When the door opened, they were greeted by blacktop pavement and the smell of gasoline.  Old pipes hung from the ceiling. 

"This is the underground garage.  And, if you didn't believe me before, Kevin, there's your car right over there," CT said thumbing in the direction of the red Mustang sitting all alone.  Not too far away was another car…probably Tortured Artist's car.

As they headed towards the elevator, Courage heard muffled voices from behind the "Security" door, followed by laughing.

Finally, Card Trick brought Kevin, Courage, and Sandy back to his room.  "Well, there you go.  Some place, huh?"

"Yeah," said Kevin nervously.

"I hope you go to that Krew concert," said Card Trick.  "It starts in about an hour.  I'd go myself, but, uh, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment."

"Right," grinned Kevin.  Kevin was actually beginning to feel less angry with Card Trick now.  The rabbit wasn't all that threatening, and he seemed to have a really bright attitude.  Plus, he proved he was telling the truth by showing that his car was all right.  Courage and Sandy also liked how he seemed to make them feel happy and upbeat.  It was almost magical in a way.

"I hope to see you in the morning," Card Trick said before turning around and closing the door.  "Now then, where were we?" he said on the other side.

Kevin and the dogs promptly left to go to the lobby to grab their luggage and then to their rooms and unpack.  There were two rooms that were connected by a door.  Kevin left that door open and pushed the two beds in each room together to make two large beds.

With that, Kevin looked at a clock on the wall.  It was almost 10:00 PM.  The concert would start in an hour.  Kevin hoped the band had enough talent to sound good.

Courage and Sandy stood by the window.  They looked at all the bright lights on Vegas shining like Christmas lights.

"It's so beautiful," said Sandy.

Courage nodded.  He wondered if he should tell her that Molly and Janet were going to perform, but decided to surprise her instead.  Courage wrapped his arm around Sandy's back as Kevin lay down on the bed and watched TV.


	7. Ace of Spades: Rex and Dark Sonic

Ace of Spades: Rex and Dark Sonic (Pre-show Speculations)

At 10:05 PM, a large bus pulled into the parking lot behind the Wild Kard Hotel.  There was actually a bit of fog rolling into the area and the temperature had already dropped into the sixties.  

Joe Nathan stepped out of the tour bus and looked around.  The parking lot looked really vacant and, with the fog rolling in, a little creepy.  Still, the lights in the distance reminded Joe that they were finally in Vegas.  

Joe walked around as the driver, Allen, came up behind him.  "What do you think?" he asked.

"Well," admitted Joe.  "I was kinda hoping someone would come up and tell us what to do, now that we're here."  He turned around and saw the Krew starting to exit the bus.  "Hey, guys!  Could you get the stuff out of the bus now?"

"Yes, master," said Psycho, stooping over and imitating Igor.  He and his bandmates walked over to the storage areas on the side of the bus, opened them, and began taking all the band equipment out of it."

Just then, Joe noticed a figure walking towards them from the hotel.  It was the same tall, dark man that CT, Kevin, Courage, and Sandy had seen on the tour, only now he was wearing a wide assortment of clothing.  A hat, a sweater, jeans, a scarf, socks, sneakers…every inch of his skin was covered in clothing!  He was also carrying a clipboard and a pen.

Joe and Allen walked over to him.  "Are you the person in charge?"

"Yes," said the man in a deep voice.  "And we're on a tight schedule.  Your performance starts in less than an hour, so you need to hurry to your rooms, and get back down here no later than 10:15 to tune up, so I suggest you get moving."  The man wandered over to the luggage that was being taken out by the Krew.  He turned around and stared back at the hotel.

At that moment, two more figures exited the building and headed for the luggage.  Joe immediately thought they were clowns or court jesters or some similar type of costumed people.  One of them was a tall harlequin with a bright red and black outfit.  He wore a high-collared coat and a jester's hat.  The other one looked slightly shorter and had a slightly duller red and black outfit.  Both of them came up behind the clothed man.  

"These are my associates, Phanto and Jester," the man said to the tall and short figures.  "They will take the band equipment inside.  As for you," he looked at Joe, "take your Krew up to the top floor, rooms 661 to 666 in the penthouse, leave your luggage, and come right back down.  Go now."  The man then went over to the equipment to help Phanto and Jester.

Joe walked over to the Krew and stopped.  The Krew had their luggage with them, but their attention was focused on the three hotel employees.  The Krew had looks of astonishment on their faces.  Joe thought it was because they looked so weird (this is Vegas, he told himself), but Joe wondered why the fur on the back of every dog's neck was standing on end.

"C'mon, guys," said Joe, snapping the dogs out of their trances.  "Let's go to our rooms."

As Joe and the Krew walked to the nearest elevator (Allen always stayed in the bus), the dogs acted rather nervous.

"I dunno, Joe," said Psycho.  "I've got a bad feeling about those guys."

Joe pressed the 'up' button next to the elevator.  "You get a bad feeling about a lot of people."

"But this is different, Joe," said RX, the dachshund. (Pronounced "Rex", remember.)  "It's like something in the back of our minds is telling us that those guys are bad news."

The elevator doors opened as Joe turned to RX and said, "It's just your sixth sense going haywire again.  It happens, like, twice a day."

"Then how come we all felt it?" asked Gina the poodle.

"Yeah," said Daisy and Humphrey.

"Because…" Joe thought for a second.  "Those guys did look kinda weird, didn't they?" 

"I have a feeling 'weird' doesn't even begin to describe them," said Psycho, just before the elevator doors closed with a 'ding'.  

It didn't take long to get to the top floor.  No sooner had the elevator doors opened than RX shouted, "Sweet!  The penthouse suites!"

"C'mon," said Joe.  "According to 'Mr. Clothing Man', we each get our own suite.  Now, let's drop our stuff and head back down."  Joe and the Krew hauled their luggage out of the elevator and the doors closed behind them.

The elevator traveled all the way back down to the first floor and stopped.  The doors opened, and Kevin, Sandy, and Courage got in.  They couldn't find anything to watch on TV, so they decided to head back to the casino on the floor below theirs until it was time for the show.

When the elevator doors opened again, Kevin and Sandy stepped into the lobby and headed for the casino.  Courage went on ahead and entered the casino first.  He had had an uneasy feeling ever since he stepped foot in the building, and the fact that he was stranded in an unfamiliar city didn't help either.  Courage decided to take it upon himself to scope things out. 

As Kevin and Sandy walked over to the slot machines, Courage wandered over to the card table where Card Trick had taken Kevin's car keys and sat in the chair.  To his surprise, the cards that CT had showed (the seven aces) were still there!  

Courage reached over and flipped through them, looking at each one.  "Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades.  But what are the other three?"  He looked at the three mystery aces and saw each had a letter instead of a suit.  He laid them on the table in order and saw a horrifying message. 

"R-E-X"

This realization made Courage fall right out of his chair.  He regained his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.  "It…can't be…can it?" Courage asked himself. "This has got to be someone's idea of a sick joke.  No way can it be him." 

Courage kept the mindset that it wasn't who he thought it was, and decided to report his findings to Kevin and Sandy. 

He found them near the back wall, which housed a large robotic King of Hearts.  As CT had said earlier, it was the "Suicide King" due to the fact that it appeared his own sword was going through his head. 

Courage tapped Kevin on the leg and explained to him and Sandy all the references to Rex that he had seen.  Kevin and Sandy were surprised, but they also shared Courage's belief that it wasn't who they thought…at least, they hoped to god it wasn't.  After all, ever since their adventure in Perfection, they never wanted to see that guy again.  

Just then, a commotion was heard out in the lobby.  Through the doors, a throng of people was making their way through the lobby and towards the ballroom.  Kevin and the dogs knew that they must be people who somehow heard about tonight's performance and were just now being let in!

Kevin looked at his watch.  It was 10:30 PM.  "Let's go, guys," he said to Courage and Sandy, "before all the seats are filled."

As they ran, the King of Hearts suddenly shifted, causing its sword to plunge into the floor mere inches from Courage's rear.  This made Courage jump and run to catch up with Kevin and Sandy, who were just far enough ahead to not realize Courage's close call. 

On the other side of this King was a secret room.  The large room was housing, among other things, a giant roulette wheel.  It was here that evil personified took form. 

Rex was sitting at the King's control panel when the door flew open behind him.  He turned and saw the dark man enter.  As soon as he shut the door behind him, he burst into flames!  The clothes were instantly reduced to ashes.  All that was left was Dark Sonic walking out of the ashes with not a scratch on him.

"Okay, Rex, what gives?" he said to the armadillo.  "We got them stranded here.  Now what?  I got important business to tend to!" Dark Sonic looked at his watch.  He placed a sandal-clad foot over the edge of the wheel, which he was now spread out upon. 

"Patience, dear boy.  We will all get what we want in due time," Rex said, walking away from the King's controls. 

"Not what I want," Dark muttered softly.

 Rex heard that and quirked an eyebrow at the remark.  "What's THAT supposed to mean?" he asked, crossing his arms. 

"Oh, nothing," Dark said, rolling over and off the wheel, landing on his feet.  "Nothing at all." 

It's not that he didn't want to tell Rex what was going on, it's just that he didn't want to promise anything until he was sure he could do it, so he figured it was best to wait until he had the evidence to back it up before he made his offer. 

Rex rubbed his temples and sighed.  "Whatever.  Why don't you make yourself useful and tell the Krew to get their asses down here before the crowd begins to riot?  It's already 10:35."

Dark Sonic mumbled to himself as he walked out and towards the elevator.  He pressed the very top floor button and muttered to himself all the way up. 

When the elevator reached the top floor, Dark walked out and was greeted by the large wooden doors that lead to the hall of penthouse suits.  These were as posh as you could get here.  And since the Krew were close friends of Rex, they got one all to themselves. 

Dark knocked on the first door. 

"Hey!" shouted Dark Sonic.  "Any of you guys wanna see where you're going to perform tonight?" he asked.  "Or are you all just gonna stay up here and rot?" 

RX opened the door and looked into the red eyes of Dark Sonic. 

"AHHHHHHHH!  MY NIGHTMARES CAME TRUE!!!!!" he screamed and slammed the door in Dark's face. 

Dark stood there for a moment, silent.  He looked off to the side like he was expecting someone else to be there. 

"I don't f'kin believe this," he mumbled.  He took it upon himself to pound on the next door harder.  This time, Gina answered. 

She looked up at Dark Sonic and smirked.  "Well well well.  "It's not enough for you to torment us through our computer at home?" she asked in a cocky voice. 

Dark held back his violent outburst and laughed to pass it off.  "Look, you little wiseass, if it wasn't for me, you guys wouldn't even have a gig here.  Take it at face value and know that as long as you're here I can't do shit." Dark said, pointing to the floor to illustrate his point.  "And just because you're the only band member here who's figured out that I'm the one who's been terrorizing you guys online doesn't make you so special.  If I had my way, I could send you right back to your former masters and never have a social life again.  So go tell your wannabe band to get downstairs and get the show started so I can do what I have to do, okay??!"  Dark Sonic abruptly turned and headed back to the elevator. 

Gina took a few deep breaths.  Talking to this guy on instant messenger was nothing compared to talking with him in real life.  Gina quickly turned and called over her shoulder for the others to come out.  Since their rooms were connected, they all eventually filed into the hallway. 

They piled into the elevator and went back to the ground level.  They saw Chris Gammon working behind the desk and he waved to them.  To the right of the front desk was the big fancy door that led to the ballroom.  Luckily, most of the crowd had already filed in by now, including Kevin and the dogs, so nobody saw them.  Joe and the Krew walked over and peeked through the doors.

The ballroom, from the Krew's point of view, was a big fancy joint with three walls of vertical windows that reached to the ceiling. The windows showed the neon lights of the strip and pretty much lit the room themselves. 

At the far end of the room, to the right of the entrance, was the stage.  Little paper card suits hung from the scaffolding that held the lights in place.  Tables were lined along the edges of the room in two rows, leaving enough room for a dance floor if anyone felt in the mood, or were too drunk to care. 

Psycho whistled at the grand elegance of this room.  Humphrey and Daisy nodded in agreement.  Rex was also impressed, but was still very nervous about Dark Sonic.  Gina was busy fixing her hair in one of the lobby windows.  She was also worried about Dark Sonic.  Until now, she had shown zero fear against Dark Sonic whenever he intimidated the band online, but after what happened upstairs, she felt afraid.  It was only last week that Dark Sonic revealed his identity to her and threatened her to keep it secret.  Now, she wanted tonight's performance to be over and done with so they could leave this joint.

Psycho came up behind Gina and said, "Are you alright?  You look a bit nervous."

Thinking fast, Gina said, "Well, this is our first out of state concert.  Can you blame me?"  She forced a smile upon her face as she followed Psycho to the front desk.

"Excuse me, sir," said Humphrey to Chris, who was behind the front desk taking inventory.  "What was that door behind the front desk?" 

"That's the pool and changing rooms," Chris said, feeling slightly annoyed by their lack of attention. 

"COOL!  I wanna go swimming!" RX said, getting excited. 

"Me too!  I need to relax before the show!" Psycho said.

"Well, let's go change!" Gina said turning to face the others. 

"Have you all lost your minds?!" shouted Joe.  "We go on in fifteen minutes!!!  We need to get backstage now!  C'mon, hop to it!"

They all ran after Joe, who was reading the map of the hotel that he had picked up at the front desk.  He found the hallway that went backstage and ran down it.  Along the way, they ran into Molly and Janet.

"Hey, are you the opening act?" Joe asked as he ran.

"Yeah!" shouted Janet.  "Race you!"

So, Janet, Molly, Joe, and the Krew ran down the hall with fourteen minutes to go until Showtime.

Back in the lobby, a bewildered Dark stood standing in the center of the vacant lobby.  (Chris had to take a quick bathroom break.)  He slapped his forehead and grumbled more obscene words.  He walked over the big Wild Kard logo in the center of the room and went through an unmarked door. 

Behind the door, a low, mechanical growl could be heard in the silent room. 

"Patience, my friend, patience," said Dark Sonic.  "You'll get what you want soon enough.  We all will."

The door closed behind him.


	8. Backstage Pass

Backstage Pass

"Wow," said Kevin.  "I didn't know it would be this crowded."

Kevin, Courage, and Sandy were sitting in a booth near the rear of the ballroom.  A mass of people was jammed in front of the stage, awaiting the performance.  A curtain was pulled down, and behind it, the sound of instruments being tuned could be heard.  The lights from the giant chandelier and surrounding bulbs stayed on, illuminating the vast room.

Tortured Artist sat in the booth next to Kevin and the dogs.  He leaned over and said to Kevin, "It's almost 11.  When's it gonna start?"

"Soon, I hope," said Kevin.  Suddenly, he gasped.  "Aw man!  I forgot to call my folks!  They're probably worried sick!"

"Don't worry, Kev," reassured Tortured Artist.  "You can call them after the show."

Courage saw that Kevin still looked a bit worried.  He looked over at Sandy and wondered how long the show would actually last.

Backstage, Molly and Janet were just about ready to perform.  As they made some last-minute adjustments, Joe talked to his Krew offstage.

"OK, dogs," he said, "Remember, after the opening act is done, you have five minutes to check the instruments.  Humphrey, make sure the drum heads are fastened tight this time.  I don't want another 'Oakland incident' to happen again.  Psycho, be sure to double-check the volume levels on the DJ machine and keyboards.  The rest, make sure your guitars are tuned.  Now let's kick back and see how good this opening act is."

As the Krew settled, Joe pulled Gina over.  "You okay?  You look concerned about something."   

The poodle looked up at Joe and said, "Hmm?  Oh, everything's fine.  It's just…" Her eyes happened to glance at Psycho.

Joe caught her glance and sighed.  "Look, I know you have strong feelings about him, but you need to concentrate more on your performance.  Can you do that for me, please?"  He turned away and walked over to Daisy.  "Have you restrung those new guitar strings yet?"

Gina was glad that Joe thought she was talking about Psycho instead of Dark Sonic.  She wanted to tell Joe about that black creature, but he was so busy with the band that he probably wasn't going to pay much attention.  She knew she had to tell another bandmate (or anybody), but who?  And when?  

At that moment, the lights began dimming.  "Finally," whispered Kevin in the audience, who was beginning to quiet down.  Just then, a deep, throbbing bass began pounding like a heartbeat.  The curtain suddenly opened and a dog could be seen behind a DJ booth.  Lights began flashing in unison to the beat, as Molly kept the rhythms in sync.

Familiar memories began appearing in Courage's mind when he saw Molly.  He remembered the ordeal they had in Perfection.  He couldn't help but feel glad at seeing her again.  Sandy also remembered Molly, and clapped upon seeing the dog on stage.

As the melody began playing, a girl in a flashy outfit suddenly pranced onto the stage and shouted into a microphone, "Hello, Vegas!"  The crowd immediately began cheering, especially Kevin.  He had no clue that Molly and Janet were performing here, and he was going crazy with delight.  He wished he could be at the front of the stage, so Janet could see him.  

The performance continued for about forty minutes.  The six songs Janet and Molly played were fast, techno/electronica songs that were about six minutes each.  Janet did most of the rapping with a little melodic singing every now and then.  At one point, Molly left the DJ booth and sung a duet with Janet, which the crowd really liked.  During the last song, a slow, eight minute, Radiohead-like song, gymnasts and several contortionists came onto the stage and twisted their bodies along to the music.      

The light show was actually the most impressive part of the performance.  As all the songs played, lights of all different sizes and colors splashed across every corner of the room.  Lights were spinning, flashing, rotating, twirling, gyrating, changing colors, and displaying images on the back of the stage.  During one song, lasers were added to increase the dramatic quality of the spectacle.  The last song was a visual masterpiece of light, lasers, and mirrors that created a web of beams that entranced every person in the room.  Even Rex and Dark Sonic, who were secretly watching the show, couldn't help but be slightly impressed by it.

Finally, Janet said "Good-night," and the curtain closed.  The crowd applauded and cheered.

"Wow," said Kevin.  "Weren't they awesome?"

"Yeah, cool!" agreed Tortured Artist.

Courage and Sandy agreed too.

Backstage, Joe shook hands with Janet.

"Great job!" said Joe.  "Of course, it was probably better in the seats."

"Yeah," agreed Janet.  "You should really come to one of our shows sometime."

"Oh, yeah!  Absolutely," smiled Joe.  "You look bushed."

"Yeah, I'd better get back to my dressing room, but Molly seems to be making friends with your Krew."

"Yeah.  Hey guys!" Joe called to his band.  "Let's get set up!"

"C'mon, Molly," said Janet.  "Let's get back to our rooms."

So Janet and Molly went off as the Krew went to their instruments.

"That dog sure was cute, wasn't she?" asked Humphrey with a grin.

"You would say that, wouldn't you, Mr. Groupie Attractor?" said Joe sarcastically.

Humphrey shrugged as he checked the cymbals.  "Hey, it's not my fault pit bulls score the chicks all the time."

"Yeah," agreed RX with his guitar.  "If I weren't a virgin, you'd be having some serious competition, Humph."

Humphrey shook his head and laughed.

Joe walked over to Psycho.  "Hey, Psy, listen," Joe said,  "Gina's been acting a little, well, different lately.  Since she's the most open towards you, I want you to talk to her after the show and find out what's wrong.  Can you do that for me?"

Psycho the mutt held a paw up to his forehead.  "Aye, aye, Mr. Joe Nathan, sir."

Joe smirked.  "You sound like such a dork when you do that, y'know?"

"Yeah, I just love ticking you off."

Joe checked his watch.  "Three minutes, Krew!" he shouted.

On the other side of the curtain, the crowd was starting to chant for the main act.  Kevin hoped the band would start playing soon.

A couple minutes went by.  Suddenly, an electric guitar chord rang out loud.  At 11:50 PM, the curtains parted and an outrageous scene stood onstage.

Kevin, Courage, and Sandy observed a man in his lower twenties crouched down in the middle of the stage.  To the rear of the stage, a large white bull terrier was seated at an elaborate drum set on a low platform.  On the left, a white-eyed brown dog was standing in front of two keyboards and a DJ booth.  In front of him was a purple poodle holding a bass guitar.  On the right, a dachshund and a cocker spaniel mix were holding electric guitars; the dachshund played right-handed, and the cocker spaniel played left-handed.  A big neon sign that towered behind Humphrey displayed the band's name, "The K9 Krew", in a punkish design.     

"Have you ever seen anything like this?!" shouted Tortured Artist to Kevin, above all the noise.

"No!  This is weird!" answered Kevin.

The band suddenly began playing a short punk rock song that was most likely the band's "starter" song.  The fans cheered when they finished.  

Joe then grabbed the mike and shouted, "Aloha, Vegas!"  The crowd cheered an answer.  "Let's roll over into our next song, shall we?"

The dachshund suddenly rolled over on the stage, guitar and all.  Courage and Sandy laughed.

The band spent the next 45 minutes playing eight songs with a rock/alternative mix to them.  The content of the songs ranged from an angry rock song about abusive owners to a medley about fleas to a campy song about running on the beaches of Monterey Bay.  The Krew mostly played their own instruments while Joe did lead vocals.  However, some of the dogs did alternate roles.  Psycho sung one song with a deep, low voice.  RX's high-pitched voice screeched the lyrics of all the punk-type songs.  Gina and Daisy mostly sung backup as they played their guitars.  The two of them, and especially RX, played their guitars heavily and danced around as they played.  Psycho played the keyboards and also on the DJ booth without missing a beat.  The whole time, Humphrey jammed on the drums; he even played a short drum solo at one point that sent the crowd into hysterics.  

Between songs, Joe tried his best to entertain the crowd, cracking jokes and was even dared to sing acapella with his band!  Unbelievably, they pulled it off and got a huge ovation.  

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Joe and the Krew finally played their last song, a combination of swing and heavy metal that even Rex found amusing, and prolonged the second-to-the-last note so RX could squeeze in one last guitar solo.  Then, the last note slammed throughout the room.  After a split second of silence, the audience applauded and cheered.  Kevin, Tortured Artist, Sandy, and Courage also cheered on.

"Sayonara, Vegas!" screamed Joe into the mike.  "Take care!  And get well soon, Roy!"  Joe then threw the mike onto the stage and walked off.  The curtain then closed up.  

As people began leaving, Kevin grabbed Tortured Artist and said, "Cool show, huh?" 

"Oh, yeah.  Damn good!" answered Tortured Artist.

Just then, a voice came over the intercom.  It was Chris talking on a microphone from the front desk.  "Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, it's time to announce the Backstage Raffle!"

"The what?" thought Courage.

Chris continued.  "Please grab your tickets.  If you're ticket number matches the winning number, you are going to be invited backstage.  May the person with the ticket number '321666' please head to the lobby?  That's '321666'."

"No way," Tortured Artist heard Kevin say.

He turned to Kevin, who was looking at his ticket in astonishment.  "You're kidding.  You…?"

"That's what it says," Kevin said.  He showed his ticket to Tortured Artist and the dogs.  Sure enough, the numbers '321666' were posted on the top of it.

"C'mon," said Kevin.  "Let's go before the crowd notices."

Courage watched the two guys run off.  Sandy grabbed his paw and pulled his towards the front doors.

Once past the door, Tortured Artist said, "Y'know, I'm beat.  You can go visit them yourselves."

"Aw, c'mon," said Kevin.

"Nah," answered Tortured Artist.  "It's your ticket.  Besides, it's almost one o'clock, and I need to get up early in the morning.  

Kevin showed the ticket to Chris, who quickly led Kevin, Tortured Artist, Sandy, and Courage down a network of hallways.  Just before they arrived at the dressing room door, Courage was hit with a wave of nervousness.  He didn't know whether it was because he was nervous about meeting rock stars or fearful about what he would say or something else altogether.

Sandy grabbed his paw.  "Don't worry, I'm sure they're cool."

"Yeah," said Kevin.  "Let's check 'em out."

Kevin turned the door handle…


	9. Mandatory Muttalica

Mandatory Mutt-alica

Joe Nathan lay down on the couch.  The room he was in a small foyer that served as a connector to the building's dressing rooms.  His Krew were already in their dressing rooms, which were just outside the door to his right.  Joe said he didn't need a dressing room, which was just as well since there wasn't one for him anyway.

Joe felt glad that the performance was finally over.  Joe grabbed a cup of water to soothe his parched throat.  He glanced at his watch.  Allen, the bus driver, should be coming in within a half hour, thought Joe.

Just then, the door on the other side of the room opened (the one that led back to the stage.)  Joe expected it to be Allen or Chris, the hotel clerk, but instead, a man walked into the room, followed by two dogs.  He was a few years younger than Joe and looked really tired.  Two pink dogs, one male and one female, walked in after them and closed the door behind them.

"Can I help you?" asked Joe, wondering who they were.

"Uh," said Kevin, "We won the backstage pass raffle."

"The what?"

"The raffle.  I got the winning ticket and…"

"How come I wasn't informed about this raffle?"

"I did," interrupted Chris, who stuck his head into the door.  "I told you about it right before you got on stage, remember?"

"Oh…yeah, I do now," said Joe.  "I'll see you in the morning, 'kay?"

"Alright, bye," said Chris, who closed the door.

"Okay," said Joe.  "Um, what was your name again?"

"Oh, I'm Kevin."  The two men shook hands.  "And this is Courage and my dog, Sandy."

"Cool," said Joe, who patted Sandy on her head and ruffled a hand through Courage's hair.  "The Krew should meet you two."

Though it wasn't immediately obvious, Courage and Sandy were both a little anxious to meet the band.

"Mind if I sit down?" asked Kevin, who pointed to the couch.

"Sure," answered Joe, who got up and went to get a soda from a small portable fridge in a corner of the room.

"So," said Kevin, as Courage and Sandy sat down nearby, "how long has your band been playing?"

Joe's soda can went "psshh" as he opened it.  He took a gulp and answered the question.

"Well, our band has been playing for almost six months now, although we've been practicing longer than that.  I'm not exactly sure why we started a band.  Maybe it's because Southern California is a birthplace for a lotta music.  Or maybe it's cause we got so bored, we didn't know what else to do with our lives.  You gotta admit, it's better than lying around at home with nuttin' to do." 

"Yeah," said Kevin, lazily.

Courage was beginning to wonder where the rest of the band was.  In fact, he was also worried how long he was gonna stay awake.  Kevin's watch displayed 12:56 AM.

"We began playing in a few clubs to people who didn't even knew who we were.  The whole "trans-species" thing really spread, and pretty soon whole auditoriums were sold out!  We only had, like, five songs that we could play, so it kinda sucked, but people just like watching dogs do other stuff besides lick their-…"

"Very funny, Joe," said a deep sarcastic voice suddenly.  "You keep that up, and I swear I'll make you experience that on yourself."

Joe rolled his eyes at Psycho, who walked into the room.  "Introducing the biggest bipedal freak of them all," joked Joe.

Psycho the DJ walked up to Joe and was just about to retaliate when he caught sight of Kevin.

"Who's he?" asked Psycho.  He suddenly looked at Courage and Sandy.  "And something tells me you two ain't groupies."

As Joe explained to Psycho who they were, Kevin, Courage, and Sandy stared in amazement at the dog.  Up close, Psycho appeared to be an everyday, bipedal canine wearing a tattered T-shirt and shorts.  However, there was one very peculiar attribute that Psycho had: he had no pupils!  His eyes were pure white, and the iris and pupil in each of them were gone.

"So, you're our first backstage pass people, huh?  Cool," said Psycho with a sharp-toothed grin.

"Yeah, we have to admit it was a damn good performance," said Kevin.  "You and that whole 'Stevie Wonder' thing, right?"

"Huh?"  Psycho looked confused for a moment.  "Oh, you mean my eyes.  Yeah, I get that a lot.  Thing is, I'm not really blind.  My pupils are just clouded for some reason.  Every veterinarian I go to can't explain it."

"He's a color-blind freak of nature!" said Joe.

Psycho responded by lightly hitting Joe in the leg.  Then the dog walked over and sat next to Courage.  "Hey," he said.

Not knowing what else to do, Courage responded with a winded, "Hey."

Psycho saw Sandy waving at him and said, "Hi."  Psycho looked at Courage and said, "That your sister?"  

Courage almost burst out laughing, but he made an odd face and shook his head.

Psycho understood and arched his eyebrows briefly.  The small smile that slid onto his face silently said, "Good choice."

"Hey, Psy!" said Joe suddenly.  "You wanna talk to Joe about your life or something?"

"Hell, no," said Psycho, who lay back next to Courage.  "Why ruin the moment anyway?"

Joe turned to Kevin and said, "He's had a pretty rough life.  The whole Krew has."

Just then, a new voice said, "Aw, Joe, you're not telling these strangers our life stories are you?"

The high, nasally voice belonged to RX, one of the Krew's guitarists.  He walked over to Courage and Sandy, stuck out his paw, and said, "Hi, my name's Rex.  Nice to me you."

For a split second, a chill went down Courage and Sandy's spines before they realized it was just a coincidence he had the same name as their archenemy.  They shook hands with RX and so did Kevin.

"He's the polite, underdeveloped one, he is," joked Joe.

"Aw, Joe, you know damn well I'm just like you guys…sorta," answered RX.  "I mean, having my stage name the same exact letters as a prescription does nothing for my image."

"At least you can stay healthy," said Joe.  "We all do.  No drugs here, that's for sure."

Psycho cut in.  "Although we do take in a little beer every now and then.  Plus, the canine groupies we snag-…"

"Which is about one a week," laughed Joe.

Psycho glared at Joe before he continued.  "Usually spend the night with our drummer, seeing as how Rex is still nervous about the whole thing and my relationship with Gina is one-sided…shut up, Joe."

Joe, who was about to add a "comment" about the relationship, grinned instead.  He suddenly looked to the side and said, "And speaking of our drummer, here is comes now."

Humphrey, the pit bull on drums, suddenly walked into the room.  Behind him, Gina and Daisy followed.  Each had come out of their own dressing rooms and were about to head to their rooms.  Fortunately, Joe convinced them to stay, and they introduced themselves to the guests.

"Awright!" said Joe when the whole band arrived.  "'Mutt-alica' is finally here."

"Can we make this short, Joe?" asked Daisy as she yawned.  "I can barely stay awake."

"Oh, c'mon," said Kevin, as he looked at everyone.  "You guys did a real powerhouse performance!"

"Is that an actual word, 'powerhouse'?" said Humphrey.

"Sure!" said RX.  "I use it all the time."

"Yeah, right," said Joe.  He looked at Gina.  She hadn't said much and looked really miserable and tired at the same time.  "Gina, maybe you ought to go upstairs.  You look beat."

Gina looked at her callused paw and nodded her head.  "Sorry, I couldn't stay around a while."

"Could you take Daisy with you?" asked Joe.  "She looks like she's about to nod off."

"I'm okay," muttered Daisy.  She got up and lazily made her way to the elevator.

Gina followed, but as she passed Joe, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You sure you don't want to talk to me about it?"

"No, I'm okay," lied Gina as she turned and looked at Kevin.  "Well, goodnight, Kevin, Sandy, Courage.  See you all…whenever."

Joe looked at Psycho.  It was a silent reminder for Psycho to find out what was wrong with Gina.  Psycho nodded in agreement as he tried to decide when would be a good time to ask her.

"Nice girls," said Kevin.

"Mm-hmm!" agreed Courage as he nodded his head.  Sandy playfully nudged Courage hard in the side after that remark.

"Yeah, the whole 'diversity' thing is really a focal point in our band," said Joe.  "I can't tell you how many people have e-mailed me about our band.  It's crazy!"

"Yeah," said Humphrey.  "They practically want to know everything about us."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Kevin.

Joe sighed.  "Every member of my Krew have had really awful lives before I adopted them."  Joe looked at his band members before he went on.  "Abuse, abandonment, ridicule, you name it, they've experienced at least one of them.  When I adopted them, it was tough.  They all had these hidden musical talents that they never used.  It only made sense to make a band."

"And look where we are today!" said RX with a grin.  "Living the high life in plush hotels and meeting…really strange people."  RX looked a little worried just then.  He remembered the black, red-eyed figure he saw before the concert that reminded him of the nightmares he had been having.

Joe was about to ask what "strange people" RX was referring to, when Humphrey suddenly said, "Hey, Kevin, what brings you to Vegas?"

"Eighteenth birthday vacation."

Joe, Humphrey, and RX congratulated him and spent a few minutes talking about how cool that was, and how cool Vegas was, and that they still had one more performance in Vegas before they went elsewhere.

As that was going on, Psycho got into a conversation with Courage and Sandy.  Psycho began telling a little bit about his tragic life, and Courage and Sandy each told him a bit of theirs, but nothing too major.  Psycho was especially interested in some of the adventures Courage had experienced before meeting Kevin and Sandy.

"Looks like you've had quite a few interesting experiences, Courage," said Psycho, who slyly looked at Sandy.

"Hey," said Sandy, slightly offended.

"Oh, my bad," apologized Psycho.  "I shouldn't go there.  I mean, it's none of my business…and I don't really know if you…" Psycho paused as he saw Courage smile slightly.  Psycho's question about Courage and Sandy had just been silently answered, and he coughed.  "Uh…changing the subject, you've known Kevin and Sandy a while, huh?"    

Courage nodded.  He would've gone into his routine of telling Psycho all about it, but since it was almost 1:30 AM, all he could say was, "Yeah, they're really good friends."

Psycho smiled.  "I like you, Courage.  You got spunk, I can tell.  You remind me of this guy I always talk to online, a really crazy guy.  I should introduce you to him one day."

Courage nodded.  Sleep was beginning to cloud his judgment.

"Tell you what," continued Psycho.  "Why don't you have this?"  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chain bracelet.  It had little bones etched onto it.  "Try it on."

Courage grabbed it and, with Sandy's help, attached the small bracelet to his wrist.

"You should be grateful," said Humphrey suddenly.  "Psy only gives those to people he really likes."

"Wow," said Kevin.  "Courage is just making friends left and right!"

Instead of a smile, Courage let out a giant yawn.

"Whew, 1:35 already!" said Kevin.  "I think we'd better go to sleep."

Just then, RX suddenly began singing, "I'm gonna go to sleep…let this…wash all over me!!"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention," said Joe, who got to his feet.  "RX is a walking song encyclopedia.  Sometimes the mere mentioning of a group of words that remind him of a song lyric causes him to sing that part of the song out loud."

"And right now, Radiohead is playing through his tiny brain," said Humphrey, who tapped RX's head with a drumstick.

"Well, it's been really nice meeting you guys," said Kevin.  Everyone agreed.  "I hope to see you guys in concert again!"

"Yeah," said Joe, who shook Kevin's hand again.  "Keep an eye out for us.  One day, we might make a stop in Kansas."

Psycho patted Courage on the back.  "You take care now, awright, dawg?"

Courage laughed and nodded his head.

Kevin, Courage, and Sandy waved good-bye and exited the room.  From there, they went to their own rooms upstairs and got some much-deserved rest.

Joe and Humphrey went out through the back door, talking about why they didn't get more backstage visitors more often.  Joe's cell phone also began ringing.  It was most likely Allen, informing Joe about where their next gig was.

Psycho caught RX before leaving the room.  "Hey, RX, you okay?"

"Are you kidding?  I'm dog-tired!"

"I meant, were you okay earlier when we were all going down the elevator towards the show.  You seemed a bit shaken up.  What happened."

"Nothing, really," said RX, as he suddenly ran off.

Psycho knew RX had a short memory, but something didn't seem right.  That dog almost looked like he was trying to hard to act normal.  It was as if he had seen something really awful and was telling himself it was all a big hoax.  Psycho knew of RX's nightmares.  The whole Krew did.  Was it possible that something reminded RX of those dreams?  Or were his dreams beginning to become a reality?

Psycho shook his head.  RX wasn't the top priority here.  Psycho had to find out what was wrong with Gina first, and if he didn't do it tonight, he might forget all about it…or at least get yelled at by Joe in the morning.

As Psycho joined Joe, RX, and Humphrey in the elevator, he felt glad that he and the rest of the Krew took naps during the day or else they would be living zombies by now.  

"I wonder if my online buddy has this much fun during the night," Psycho suddenly muttered.

"Who?" asked RX, who overheard. 

"You know…Rex, the armadillo dude who has the same name as you."

"Oh yeah.  Hey, I wonder what he's doing right now."

Psycho didn't know…and he couldn't explain why he felt a tiny feeling that Rex was a lot closer than he thought.


	10. My Kind of Interrogation

Recap: Kevin Henderson has gone on a trip to Las Vegas with his dog, Sandy, and her boyfriend, Courage the Cowardly Dog.   They meet up with three of the secret agents from "Return of the Hendersons", who are now hotel employees at the Luxor.  Kevin, Courage, and Sandy end up across the street at the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino, which is owned and operated by Armadillo Rex, Dark Sonic, and Card Trick the rabbit.  The last agent, Chris Gammon, is working at the front desk.  Kevin and the dogs meet Card Trick and hotel tenant Tortured Artist with mixed opinions.  Tortured Artist, Kevin, and the dogs soon attend a rock concert put on by a man named Joe Nathan and his five dogs.  Kevin is invited backstage and Courage and Sandy meet the band members.      

A few other things to keep in mind…everyone except Dark Sonic, Card Trick, and Cindy (Rex's psychiatrist from chapter 2, who's been staying in a different hotel room) is unaware that Rex is actually the one running the hotel, and they don't know he's there.  Chris, remember, never actually saw who he was talking to when he got the job.  Psycho, from the band, is not only friends with Courage now, but is an online buddy of Rex, even though they've never actually seen each other.  Only Gina and RX have seen Dark Sonic, and Gina actually knows him, because she has been threatened by him online constantly.  Psycho intends to find out from Gina why she is acting so distressed lately.  Rex is in Las Vegas to film his "show" and, more importantly, to get rid of Courage, but Dark Sonic wants to get his hands on four dark emeralds so he can transform into his true form.  However, Dark Sonic doesn't know where in Vegas they are and needs someone with a pure heart to decipher the riddles that reveal their locations.  

I hope this clears everything up so far.  On with the story!

"My Kind of Interrogation" (edited version)

At around 2:00 that morning, the door to Psycho's room slowly opened.  Psycho stepped out into the lonely hallway.  The other doors were the only things that could be seen against the plain-colored walls.  Of course, since Psycho's pale white eyes left him completely color-blind, it didn't matter to him.  

Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, Psycho silently crept down the hall towards Gina's room.  He just couldn't wait until tomorrow to ask Gina what was wrong with her.  

Psycho began thinking, "In the morning, Joe would probably ask me if I asked her, and then I'd say no, and then Joe will get all angry and yell at me and…"  

He shook his head.  Joe wouldn't actually yell at him.  He'd just whine and tell him to talk to Gina before lunchtime.  However, Psycho was a very impatient canine.  If something needed to be done, it was not going to be put off until tomorrow, no matter how late it was.

Psycho walked past RX's room.  He wondered if the youngest member of the band was having another of those nightmares he'd been complaining about recently.  Psycho never paid much attention; something about a "big, black guy with blood red eyes".  Psycho made a mental note to ask RX about it, even though he knew he'd forget about it in the morning.

Nothing could be heard in Daisy's room, but when Psycho crept past Humphrey's room, he heard some giggles and some creaking sounds coming from inside.  Psycho shook his head and smirked.  "I guess Humphrey found some groupies after all."

Psycho finally came up to Gina's room.  Beyond it, the last door belonged to Joe.  Psycho reached into his shorts pocket and took out a hotel card.  He ran the card through and opened the door.

Fluorescent lights from outside were the only light sources to be seen in the dark hotel room.  The lush, king-sized bed, the flat-screen TV, and the clothes drawers were all bathed in a dim light (these are hotel suites, remember.)  The kitchenette remained untouched and the pictures on the wall provided multiple light reflections.  Gina was nowhere to be seen.  Psycho was confused for a moment, but then he heard the shower running inside the bathroom.  Psycho quirked an eyebrow as he walked up to the door.  As "friendly" as he and Gina were, he had never actually been in a bathroom with her before.

Gulping, Psycho knocked lightly on the door, wondering if Gina would hear him.  "Gina?" he asked.

"Who's there?" answered Gina from inside.

"It's me, Psycho."

There was a pause.  "The door's open," said Gina.

Psycho opened the door with a sigh.  He instantly wondered how he was going to ask Gina what was bothering her.  Immediately, Psycho was hit by a bright bathroom light.  Psycho closed the door behind him as he surveyed the large mirror, marble sinks, porcelain toilet, and the pile of clothes on the floor.  Psycho began salivating as his eyes darted towards the shower.  The textured glass shower door revealed the purple blur of Gina facing the shower faucet.  Oddly enough, there was no steam or temperature increase in the room.  Gina liked showering herself with cool water, like a natural waterfall.

"Psy?" asked Gina suddenly.  "Could you be a dear and help me get washed?"

Psycho's initial shock was soon replaced by a smile.  "C'mon, Gina, you know it's been months since the last time I did that."

"I know," said Gina in a suggestive tone.

Psycho's tail began wagging ecstatically as he walked towards the shower door.  "This is my kind of interrogation," he thought to himself.   

Psycho grabbed the shower door handle, pulled the door open, and peeked inside.  Gina stood with her back to Psycho as the shower water rained down on her.  As if in a trance, Psycho wandered into the shower (boxers and all) and closed the door behind him.

Gina glanced over her left shoulder.  "Could you get that white bottle over there, Psy?"

Not taking his eyes off Gina, Psycho reached up and grabbed the bottle of body wash that was standing on a ledge next to his head.  He put some in his paws and shakily began rubbing Gina's shoulders.  The cool water rained down on Psycho's arms as he started massaging Gina's shoulders.  Gina sighed contentedly.

Quickly, Psycho closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he tried his hardest to calm himself down.  He needed to stay focused if he was going to ask Gina anything.

"You're up pretty late, aren't you?" asked Psycho above the sound of the shower.

"Yeah," answered Gina.  "I just wanted to get showered and everything before morning."

"You must really be tired." 

"Very.  Good thing I took a nap today."

Psycho chuckled.  He took a small step forward and rested his muzzle on Gina's right shoulder.  "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Really?" asked Gina.  She lifted up her wet right arm and lightly scratched the side of Psycho's head.  "What is it?  'Why am I wearing boxers?'"

"Very funny," muttered Psycho.  "Yeah, see, I talked to Joe and he's been worrying about you.  You haven't been yourself lately and…aw, no, not the sweet spot!"

Gina began frantically scratching the area behind Psycho's ear, causing Psycho's leg to begin kicking involuntarily.  After a few seconds, Gina stopped and Psycho tried to regain his concentration.

"Thanks," he murmured lazily.  "Um, anyway, as I was saying, you've been acting kind of distant lately."

"Distant?"

"Well, I meant you've been acting a little worried, like you're concerned about something.  I kinda hate being left out in the rain."

"Don't we all," joked Gina.  She sighed.  "I dunno, it's just…you know that guy who's been sending us those weird e-mails?"

Psycho lifted his head off of Gina's shoulder and stood up straight.  "You mean the weirdo guy who keeps telling us about ultimate evil, demonic things, and crap like that?"

"Mm-hmm."  Gina gave Psycho a brief description of the guy.  "He calls himself Dark Sonic and…"

"Wait a minute," said Psycho.  He put a paw to his head as he took a step back.  "My buddy Rex knows that guy!  He talks about him all the time.  THAT'S the guy who been harassing us on the computer?!"

"Yes."  Gina still stood with her back to Psycho as she lowered her head.  "Oh, Psy, I'm sorry I never told you earlier.  Dark Sonic said he would take me back to my first owners if I said anything."  Gina sounded as if she would break down at any moment.

Psycho stepped forward and placed his paws on Gina's hips.  He kissed her neck and said, "Hey.  Don't worry, Gina.  It's okay.  I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Well, that'll change once you actually take a look at the guy."

Psycho paused.  "Yeah…so, what happened?  How did you know the guy would be here in Vegas?"

"Well," admitted Gina, "before we left to go on tour, he…sent me an instant message on my computer."

Psycho tried to keep from growling.  "What did the bastard say?" 

"He said that he was bored and wanted to talk to me in Vegas.  Psycho, before the show started, I saw him scaring RX out in the hall."

"You mean he's here in the hotel?"

"Yeah, I told him to cut it out, and Dark Sonic told me that if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be playing here."

"What'd he do, change our schedule or something?"

"I dunno, but then he told me not to get in his way.  I wasn't scared of him, Psycho.  I'm only scared of what he could do to us."

Psycho gulped after hearing the story.  He whispered in Gina's ear, "I'm not gonna let him do anything to you, okay?"

Gina nodded.  A few seconds went by.

"Is RX okay?" Psycho asked.

"He was a little shaken, but he got through the concert, didn't he?"

"Yeah," laughed Psycho.  "At least now we know what caused those nightmares of his.  I mean, you never know what that dog is thinking."

Psycho poured some more body wash into his paws and lathered the rest of Gina's backside.

"Just don't tell Joe," said Gina.  "Not yet.  It's probably best if we wait until we're all out of Vegas."

"We only have one more performance in Vegas," said Psycho, working on Gina's tail.

"I know.  The sooner we get out of this hotel the better, and once we're out of this city, we'll tell Joe about it."

"But what if he asks about it in the morning?"

Gina sighed.  "We'll just tell him that I'm 'over it', and I feel better.  I'd hate to tell him that, but it's…"

"…for his own protection?" finished Psycho.

"I just don't want Joe worrying about me.  He's got enough on his plate already."

"Yeah," said Psycho with a grin, "as if we've never lied to Joe before."  To emphasize his point, he whacked Gina in the rear.  "Bad dogs, we are."

Gina looked over her shoulder at Psycho and said, "You promise you won't let anything happen to me?"

Psycho smiled.  "C'mon, you know you're capable of taking care of yourself, but if you're serious, I guess I have no choice.  Besides, it's gonna take a lot more than a 'red-eyed, black-skinned, copyright-violating demon thing' to get me shaken up."  

Gina finally turned around and faced Psycho.

"I rest my case," said Psycho as he stared at Gina's body.  He was about to make another comment when he suddenly realized he was still wearing his boxers!  After muttering to himself sheepishly, he managed to remove his boxers and toss them out the shower door.  Gina meandered over to Psycho, slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, and embraced him.  On reflex, Psycho reached out, grabbed the shower handle, and turned it to the left.  The two dogs temporarily pushed aside all knowledge of their conversation as the now warm water rained down on them. 


	11. Ace of Diamonds: The Unexpected Arrival

Ace of Diamonds: The Unexpected Arrival 

(You must read Tortured Artist's "The Things I Do for Family" before reading this chapter.)

At around 7:30 that morning, the sun began rising over the mountains in the east.

At 8:00 AM, Kevin forced himself to get out of bed and take a shower.  When he was finished and was dressed, he walked over to Courage and Sandy in the other bed.  Kevin was about to shake them awake, but for the first time, Kevin saw how peaceful each dog looked when it was asleep with the other.  The rising sun peeking in through the windows really helped dramatize the mood.  However, Kevin was too anxious to stare at the pleasant scene for long, so he shook Sandy in bed and said, "C'mon, lazybones, time to get up."

"Mmmph…go 'way…" muttered Sandy.

"Let's go, Sandy, time's a-wasting!"

"Geez, Kevin, you sound like your Mom," murmured Sandy, who slowly sat up in bed.

Kevin froze.  "Damn, you're right!" he said with a shock.  "Man, if only I hadn't slept in so often when I was in school."

Kevin sat down in a chair as Courage and Sandy slowly got out of bed.  Sandy had gone to sleep in her bra, so she went to get a new tank-top out of her dresser drawer. Courage yawned as he lazily went to the bathroom.

Suddenly, Kevin cursed out loud.  "I forgot to call my parents!  Sandy, why didn't you remind me?"

"Why me?" griped Sandy.  "You're the one who was too tired to pick up the phone, Mr. Responsible." 

Kevin dialed his number and held it to his ear.  "Hello?  Hi, Mom…Good morning to you too.  I…yeah, I know, I should've called, but I went to this cool concert late last night… no, nothing happened…at least, not that I know of…" He snuck a glance at Sandy waiting by the bathroom door as he spoke that last part.  Sandy stuck his tongue out at him.  She was never a very cheerful dog in the morning.  

Kevin continued as Courage came out of the bathroom and Sandy went in.  "Hey, Dad…yeah, the car's fine.  I misplaced the keys for a while, but I got 'em back…well, right now, we're about to spend the day touring the city…okay, put Katie on…Hi, sis, you going to school now?  Alright…yeah, I miss you guys too…How's Vegas?  Well, it's true what they say.  There are DEFINITLY some weirdoes running around here…no, actually a rabbit and...no, we haven't seen any Elvis impersonators yet…hey, tell Mom those secret agents that were with us in Nowhere are working here now…alright…OK, I love you guys too…Oh, I'm sure a few more surprises are on the way…OK, bye.  I'll talk to you guys tonight or so…bye."

Courage looked at Kevin with a curious look.

Kevin looked at Courage and said, "Gee, I can't wait to get out of this hotel and see the sights.  This building has kind of an eerie feel, y'know?"

Courage nodded his head.  He had come to that conclusion long before Kevin did.

Finally, Sandy came out of the bathroom feeling more awake and cheerful.  "So, where are we gonna go?" she asked.

Kevin thought for a second.  "Well, after we get some breakfast, we're gonna get some brochures and have some fun around town."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" exclaimed Sandy.  "Let's go!"

"Yay!" agreed Courage.

The restaurant was adjacent to the hotel and resembled a retouched Dennys.  Kevin, Sandy, and Courage had no trouble getting a table.  There were no menus in sight, so Kevin shouted towards the kitchen, "Hello!  We'd like some service!"

Almost at once, Card Trick burst through the kitchen door and walked over to the table wearing an apron and carrying a pad, pencil, and four menus.  He also had an electronic earplug in his ear.

"Sheesh," said Kevin to Card Trick, "how many jobs do you have here, you key-stealer?"

Card Trick glared at Kevin.  "You're just not gonna let that rest, are you?  Well, buddy, I'm here to tell you right here and now that my key stealing days are over.  Scouts honor."  He held up his furry paw for a moment and then dumped the menus onto the table.  "And I don't have any permanent job.  I just help out around the hotel.  Now, what'll you have?"

"Damn, give us a minute to look through them!" said Kevin as he scooped up the menus and passed them around.  "Are you in some sort of a hurry or what?"

"Nah, I'm just a really impatient rabbit," grinned Card Trick.

As Kevin and the two dogs looked through the menus and made their orders, a small figure peeked through the restaurant's doors.

"Let's see, I'll have a pancake platter with two eggs over easy," said Kevin.  "And some OJ too."

"Simpson or non?" joked Card Trick.

Courage rolled his eyes and ordered some sausages, eggs, and a fruit platter.  Sandy ordered cereal, waffle, and a muffin.

The figure sneaked through the door and hid behind a potted plant.

Card Trick walked off, muttering something about talking dogs.  After he went into the kitchen, Sandy said, "If that's guy's really a rabbit, shouldn't he be hopping around instead of walking?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that!" Card Trick shouted in the kitchen.

The figure came out from behind the plant and ran towards Kevin's table.

"It's the ears," whispered Kevin.  "Very good at hearing and stuff."

Sandy was just about to add her own comment when something totally unexpected happened.  A small voice cried out "Brother!!!"  At first, Courage thought a nun had wandered into the room, but just then, another pink lemden (Courage and Sandy's breed) leapt into Courage's lap.  She was wearing a red bandana around her neck and was slightly smaller than Courage.  This new dog squeezed Courage's neck and said, "I'm so glad to see you again!"

Courage had never seen Kevin and Sandy with such astonished looks on their faces before.  Sandy's eyes looked like they were just about to pop right out of her head, and Kevin's eyes darted around, as if he was trying to find some hidden cameras or something. 

"Who's that?" Sandy asked, feeling a little annoyed.

"Oh, this is Misty.  She's my sister," Courage said.

Kevin and Sandy were still trying to take this all in.

"…Your sister?" muttered Kevin slowly.  "How come you never told us about her?  I thought you were an only child…er, dog."

"Looooong story," Courage said, rolling his eyes. 

"How did she get here?" Sandy asked.

Misty got up from her brother's lap and sat next to him in the chair.  "I stowed away in the trunk when this guy came to pick you up, Courage.  I wanted to go on the adventure too!" Misty said, hugging Courage who rolled his eyes again.

"Hmm," smiled Kevin, who shook his head slowly.  "Little sisters.  Boy, I know what that's like."

Kevin and Sandy then introduced themselves properly to Misty.  Misty also introduced herself and was a little shy to tell them about her story for fear of them not believing her.  After Kevin explained, "at this point, nothing beats what Sandy and I have been through," Misty proved them wrong by retelling her life.  She told them about how she was born on another planet and how Courage had found her.  Kevin and Sandy were shocked when they learned about the fight with Stromwell and about the fate of Courage and Misty's parents.  Fortunately, Misty didn't get too emotional talking about her life.  She was just about ask Kevin, Sandy, and Courage about their adventures when Card Trick suddenly came up to the table with the food.

"So…sister, huh?" said Card Trick as he passed out four plates of food.  "Good thing I prepared some extra eggs...scrambled, not stirred."

Misty couldn't help but giggle at the remark.

Pleased that someone finally appreciated his humor, Card Trick leaned over the table and said, "What's your name again?"

"Misty," Courage blurted out.  Not to be rude, but it really wasn't any of his business anyways.

"Misty, huh?  Just like that loud-mouthed, spiky-haired girl from Pokemon!" CT joked.

Courage glared at him.

"Sorry," retorted CT, holding up his hands in defense.  "Chill, dog!  Just trying to lighten the mood!" CT looked at the others and quickly said, "Enjoy your meals," before heading back to the kitchen. 

When he reached the kitchen, he turned on the headset in his ear.

"Didja hear that, Rex?  Courage has a sister!"

"Well," said Rex, "this is interesting to say the least!  He didn't have a sister when I knew him.  Apparently it happened after that fact, seeing as how DS was attributing himself to killing Courage's folks."  Rex scratched his chin with a robotic finger.  "But then again, half the crap he says is lies, and the other half of lies is bullshit anyway."

"So, will this affect our plan any?" CT asked while turning off the stove.  

"Not really, no.  I will still exact my revenge, only it will be much sweeter taking someone as close as a sister first!" Rex mused. "God, so many decisions.  Why do they have to keep coming?  Just make sure they get the proper treatment!"

"Already taken care of Rex!" CT said, leaning against the sink.

"Good, good.  Rex out!"

After Rex cut off, the backdoors to the kitchen flew open and Dark Sonic walked in, grumbling at having to lug dishes around.  He was in human form, of course. 

"Hey, DS, why so pissed?" CT asked.

"Chris, the 'always-busy' jerk who's operating the front desk, is starting to shirk his duties, thereby pissing me off to a point of destroying the mortal.  Oh, what I would give to see that guy just…" 

"Did you hear the news?" Card Trick interrupted, sounding a little too excited.  "Courage has a sister!" 

Dark Sonic dropped a plate in the sink and muttered to himself, "…Another pure heart…"

"Huh?" asked CT.

Dark Sonic instantly regained composure and turned with a wicked smile.  "A sister?  Really? Well, how odd.  How odd indeed," DS said, sounding amused.  He placed a finger to his lips in fake thought. 

"She's here right now, if you want to meet her," explained CT.

Dark Sonic ran to the door and peeked through them.  Sure enough, there was one pink dog too many sitting at the table with that kid, Kevin.  Before CT could say anything else, DS was out the backdoor in a flash.

"Ah well, I'm sure he has his reasons," CT said, shrugging.  He spent the next half hour cleaning and organizing the kitchen.  Then, he heard Kevin yell, "Hey, rabbit dude!  We'd like the check, please!"

Card Trick stomped out of the kitchen and up to Kevin's table.  "It's Card Trick, buddy," said the rabbit with irritation.  "My name is Card Trick.  Card to the Trick.  CT for short, got it?"

"Sorry," answered Kevin.  "I'm just bad at names, that's all.  I swear."

"Yeah…okay, I'll go with that.  That'll be $35.95."  CT pulled out the bill from his pocket and stood there as Kevin paid for his meal.

Card Trick was just about to leave when Kevin said, "Hey, um, Card Trick?  Aren't you gonna clean up the table?"

With a loud sigh, Card Trick walked over to the table.  To everyone's surprise, the rabbit grabbed the tablecloth with his paws and scooped up all the dirty plates, cups, and silverware in the fabric.  Then, he tossed the whole thing over his shoulder like a garbage bag.  

"Abracadabra, it's cleared.  Ta-da," he said unenthusiastically to Kevin.  Then, he suddenly smiled and said, "I hope you all have a nice day."  Then he turned around and walked back with the tablecloth and food.  Orange juice and syrup began dripping through the bottom of it.

"That," said Kevin slowly, "is one weird critter."

"I think he's kinda funny," said Misty.  Before anyone else could comment, Misty quickly said, "Wow, bro!  Where did you get that cool bracelet?" 

Courage saw his sister looking at the bone bracelet hanging onto Courage's wrist.  It fit with the golden bracelet that Sandy was wearing. 

"It's from a new friend of mine," explained Courage.  "He's in a band, and they're all real cool," Courage said.  Of course, he didn't know the band personally, but they didn't seem too unfriendly last night. 

"You have a lot of friends!" Misty said.  

Courage nodded and began reciting a list of people and animals he had befriended both on and off his farm.

Just then, Sandy cut in.  "But let's not forget all the enemies that he's made too." 

Courage agreed.  "They all have a nasty habit of trying to get their revenge." 

Courage began another list of bad guys, mostly the bad guys that had been with him during his last adventure with the Hendersons (Katz, and Le Quack, and all the others.)  Courage also mentioned some that he had only seen once.  However, he didn't dare mention his brush with death against his mechanical doppelganger…or more specifically, the pink, metal "Mecha Courage" owned by that weird oriental guy that had once fought against in Courage in that Romanesque coliseum.  Courage hoped he never had to see that monster again. After all, he didn't want to worry his sister too much; for fear that she may be used as bait instead of Muriel if an enemy should strike. 

Courage also didn't talk about Rex and Dark Sonic.

"Yes, you've sure had some close calls, Courage," said Sandy.  She leaned over and kissed Courage on the cheek.  A slight expression of disgust appeared on Misty's face. She was still too young to understand love.

"Hey!" said Kevin suddenly.  "How about we introduce Misty to our friends at the Luxor?"

Courage and Sandy had no objection to that.

So Kevin and the three dogs got up and headed for the exit.

Meanwhile, Rex spun around in his chair laughing at this turn of events.  "First my enemy arrives at my doorstep.  Now a close family member of my enemy appears out of the blue!  Can this get anymore better?"

"Mr. Rex, you're on in five!" a voice in the room called out.

"No, wait, it can!" Rex said, drumming on the desk.  Behind him was a gigantic backdrop that read "REX SHOW 2003, VEGAS!!!!"  Behind that were massive windows showing the skyline of Vegas from at least 150 stories.  This was on the very top floor, right above the suites that Joe and the K9 Krew were still sleeping in. 

The camera kicked on and Rex began to talk.  "Are we gonna interview the K9 Krew today?" Rex asked to the voice.  The voice muttered something. 

"You don't know?" Rex asked.  "Well, go find out!" Rex commanded, pointing off camera.  He rolled his eyes and sighed.  "Cut!" he said. 

Just then, Cindy walked in pressed the "stop" button on the camera.  She then walked up to Rex, who was still sitting in his desk chair.

"Morning, Cindy," said Rex with a grin.  "How are you this morning?"

Cindy abruptly got up into the chair and promptly sat down in Rex's lap with her back to the camera.

"Guess that answers my question," said Rex.  Cindy took off the hard hat Rex was wearing and ruffled a paw through his dark green hair.  "Y'know, Cindy, it's a good thing the camera isn't on.  People will talk!" Rex said playfully. 

Cindy smiled and kissed Rex on the lips, making the end of his metallic tail wag slightly.

Afterwards, Rex lazily stared at Cindy.  "So, what's on today's agenda?" he asked, 

"Well," said Cindy.  "I was hoping later this evening we could sit down and have another session."

Rex sighed uncomfortably.  He involuntarily began playing with Cindy's bushy, raccoon-like tail.  "Cindy…"

"Look," interrupted Cindy.  "I know you hate talking about yourself, but I am your psychiatrist.  It's my job to find out what's been going on in that enigmatic head of yours.  You've only been telling me bits and pieces of your life, and I think it's time you went back to the very beginning and tell me every detail."  

For once, Rex was at loss for words.  It didn't matter; the look on his face said it all. 

Cindy began rubbing Rex's bare chest.  "Tell you what, big guy.  If it'll make you feel better, why don't we swing by the buffet?" 

"What for?"

"I've heard that food sometimes makes good therapy."

Rex closed his eyes, as if he were deep in thought.  Then, he opened them, stared at Cindy and smiled evilly.  "On second thought, maybe we COULD swing by the buffet."  Rex slid his hand down Cindy's thigh. 

"Mmm, why the sudden change of heart?" Cindy asked, making her moves more deliberate. 

"Hopefully, we're going to meet someone before we capture them," Rex said, sliding his hands up her back.

"Aww," cooed Cindy.  "Can't it wait until we…?"

"AHEM!" a voice loudly interrupted.  Cindy instantly released Rex, and they acted like nothing was going on. 

Dark Sonic walked into the room, in normal form. 

"Riiight," he said slyly.  "I'll just pretend I didn't see anything."  He teasingly covered his eyes.

"Haven't you ever tried knocking first before entering a room?" Rex asked angrily.  "And how long have you been standing there?"

"Depends.  How long you've been going at it?  I was about to get the hose," DS said with a grin. 

Rex flipped DS off and asked him what was going on.

"I take it you heard the news about this sister of Courage's," DS said, flopping down in a chair nearby. 

"Yeah, so?" Rex asked, getting suspicious. 

"Well, you're gonna go after her, right?" DS asked.

"Well, duh!" Rex said, grabbing the glass of water that Cindy suddenly brought over.

"Just asking," DS said standing up.  He walked off with his arms folded behind his head.

Rex tapped a pencil as he eyed DS going out the door.  Why was it any of his business anyways? 

"Well," said Cindy.  "I think I'll go take a quick shower before I head downstairs."  He headed for the door.

"You sure you don't need some company?" joked Rex.

"Please," laughed Cindy sarcastically.  "Only a hormone-crazed psycho would dare attempt something like that.  Besides, shouldn't you be checking up on that little 'surprise' you said you were preparing for 'someone'?"

"Silly me," laughed Rex.  "It must've slipped my mind."

Cindy kissed Rex again.  "I'll see you tonight."  She then turned and went out the room.

"Does this mean no buffet?" called out Rex.

Just then one of many pencils in the ceiling fell out of its place and hit the desk. This snapped Rex out of his trance as he scrambled to get dressed before the camera came back on. 

Outside the filming room DS pondered over this situation.  Another pure heart to the mix would no doubt increase his chances of deciphering those riddles.  That's why he wanted everyone together in a group, so combined they would obliviously help speed the process along.  He had to get Courage's sister to survive long enough to at least see her potential.  If she didn't succeed, he'd let Rex have at her while he moved on to better things.

Dark Sonic went down the hall, laughing to himself and thinking of how 'better' the world would be if he were in charge. 

"I HATE it when these X variables pop up in my perfectly formulated equations!" DS said looking out the window.  "I know you're out there somewhere my brothers and I will find you!" he said, this time in the 16 demon voices at once.


	12. Joe and the Dognapped Krew

Joe and the Dog-napped Krew

After breakfast, Kevin and the three dogs went to the lobby to introduce their new party member to Tortured Artist.  He happened to be in the lobby as the four walked into the room.  

Courage couldn't believe how much had happened since he had arrived in Vegas.  That was probably why he never had much time to admire the surroundings.  Now, as he walked into the center of the lobby, Courage noticed how glamorous the lobby looked.  There were huge, Corinthian pillars encircling the room.   A large chandelier hung overhead surrounded by other lights.  Leather couches and velvet chairs were placed next to magazine racks and two enormous, Gothic-style windows.  The lobby had posh red carpeting and the space age furniture was arranged in an almost "Feng shui" manner.  But the biggest thing Courage couldn't believe he missed was the huge wall of televisions, 16 to be exact, stacked in four rows to make one big television.   On it was the letter R in a circle, just like the one he had seen on the floor of the ballroom.  It was rotating and bouncing around like a screensaver along with a second logo that Courage had never seen before. 

Kevin and Sandy were talking to Tortured Artist and introducing him to Misty.  Kevin called Courage over from his little sight-seeing area, and he trotted back over to the group. 

"Hey!  You just gave me an idea, Courage," Kevin said.  "How about we all go sightseeing?  We need to kill some time here, right?" 

Tortured Artist and the dogs agreed.  As they filed off, Kevin slapped his forehead in realization that he needed his keys for the car. 

Kevin rang the bell on the lobby desk, getting nothing.  He looked at a door that led into a room behind the front desk.  It was slightly ajar. 

"HEY, RABBIT DUDE!!" Kevin shouted through the door.  "ARE YOU IN THERE??!!" 

"I TOLD you!  It's CARD TRICK!!!! JEEZE!" CT said coming out of the back room.  He rubbed the side of his head as if he had a headache. 

Kevin sighed.  "Yeah, I know, but it got your attention." Kevin said, smiling.

CT couldn't help but laugh.  Kevin was beginning to get the hang of this attitude thing.  CT quickly handed Kevin his keys.

"You sure you don't want to take a tour bus?" offered the rabbit.

"Nah, it's cheaper to drive," said Kevin.  "Besides, do you want some guy yammering useless facts on a microphone for an hour?"

"I see what you mean," answered CT.  "Well, I gotta go.  I'm late…and NOT for an important date."  The rabbit dashed through a door nearby. 

Moments later, in the parking garage, Kevin headed for his car.  Behind him, Tortured Artist was getting used to having another talking dog telling him about the exciting tour they were about to have.  Courage watched Misty tell Tortured Artist about how she had never been in a big city before and was anxious to see the sights.

"I'm a little excited myself," admitted Sandy.

Courage agreed.  He wanted to see how accurate those Vegas vacation commercials on TV really were.

As the car came into view, the five of them heard laughing from behind a nearby security door.  The laughing sounded faintly familiar to Courage and Kevin.  Passing it off as someone joking around, Kevin, Tortured Artist, and the three dogs squeezed into the car.   

Inside the security room, Rex picked up the phone. 

"Check this out! Check this out!" he whispered as he dialed a number.

Dark Sonic held his hands to his mouth, muffling his chuckles as Rex did his thing.

"Hey, Chris," said Rex in a fake, girly voice, "Uh, could you be a great employee and make sure the K9 Krew gets up?" Rex said in a fake girlish voice. 

Chris muttered something on the other end, which caused Rex to speak in his normal voice.  "Yea, yea, I'll quit joking around."  He hung up the phone and looked at Dark Sonic.  "Why are you still here?" Rex asked. "You know damn well Chris is gonna forget what I just said, so go wake the Krew up!"  Rex pointed to the door forcefully. 

"Why me?" Dark Sonic asked, folding his arms.

"Because after their next gig, they're out of here.  Didn't you say something about wanting to talk to them?  You'd better hurry!" Rex said, shooing Dark off like a fly. 

Dark Sonic smiled, knowing Rex was falling for his lies every time. 

Dark dashed towards the elevator and caught it just before the doors closed.

Once he arrived at the penthouse suites, which were just below the Rex Show set, Dark Sonic pounded on the doors.  RX answered and almost fainted before he slammed the door in DS's face again.  But this time, instead of moving on, DS pounded on the door harder. 

"Go…go away," RX stammered from behind the door.  His nasally voice wavered. 

"Cut it out, dog.  I just wanna talk to you," DS said, sounding sincere. 

The terrified dachshund had his back to the door and was breathing heavily.  Sweat began forming on his nose and T-shirt.  What did this guy want?  Why did he keep appearing in real life as well as his dreams?

There was another knocking sound.  This time it came from the door that led to Joe's room next door. 

"C'mon, RX!" called out Joe on the other side.  "It's 10:30!  We got to get some lunch before our next gig!  We've already slept through breakfast!  The rest of the Krew is already downstairs in the casino waiting for us!" 

RX hesitated, wanting to tell Joe what was going on.  He wanted to tell Joe to open his door and tell the dark being outside to go away, but RX didn't want to think about what would happen if Joe actually did that.

"B…be there in a minute!" RX called back, trying to sound calm. 

He slowly opened the door and looked through the crack, seeing DS still there.

"Who…who are you?  What do you want?"

"Did I not introduce myself?" asked DS, sounding shocked.  "Where are my manners?  In a nutshell, I'm Dark Sonic, an entity of the dark and supernatural.  I just want to ask you a quick question.  Is Psycho around?  I've got something I want to ask him."  A grin suddenly spread on Dark Sonic's face.  A shiver went down RX's spine as DS said, "See?  That wasn't so bad."

RX took a deep breath.  "He just left with everyone else.  Now will you promise not to haunt my dreams anymore?" RX asked the demon.

"Mmmmmaybe," DS said, as RX tried to close the door again.  DS grabbed it and held it open against RX, who was desperately pushing on it. 

"Leave me alone!" RX whined, still pushing futilely on the door.

"Where's your band goin', hotdog?  You're a dachshund, right?" DS asked with an evil glint in his eye.

"To another hotel for our last Vegas gig, then we can leave you behind for good!"

"Which hotel?"

"Why should I tell you?" RX blurted out, surprised by this sudden burst of confidence.

With terrifying speed, DS grabbed the dog up by the collar of his T-shirt and brought him to eye level.  "Because you will, if you know what's good for you!" 

"Okay, okay!  We're going to Circus Circus!  Just put me down, please!" RX begged, kicking the air. 

DS set him down and slammed the door in his face for a change.    

When the door was closed, DS whipped out a cell phone.  "PHANTO!  JESTER!  Get ready to initiate the plan!" 

Emerging from the Stratosphere Hotel, about a mile or two away from the Wild Kard, was a black semi truck. 

Joe opened the door and walked into RX's room.  He took one look at the shaking canine and immediately rushed over to him.

"Dude!  Are you alright?" asked Joe.  He brought his arms around the dachshund who didn't hesitate to squeeze Joe back.

"The-th-the guy…came back…and…" uttered RX.

"What guy?" asked Joe.  Before RX could stop him, Joe walked over to the door, opened it and looked into the hallway.  "There's no one out here," he called out.

"I…I'm telling you, Joe!" shouted RX.  "That demon thing from my dreams is real!  He came here and forced me to tell him where we're going!  He even told me his name was Dark Sonic!  He's not just some guy who harasses us online!  He's an evil demon thing!  And he knows where we're going!"

"Hey, calm down!" replied Joe.  After some thought, he said, "Look, I'll talk to Allen.  He could get us some extra security at the next gig.  But if what you're saying is true, there's not really a whole lot we can do."

The blurry-eyed dog was about to say something, but Joe interrupted him.  "Look, don't worry.  Just get cleaned up and we'll go down to the lobby together, okay?  Remember, focus on our next gig."

"Okay…I'll try."  RX cleared his throat and walked into the bathroom.

"Dark Sonic," muttered Joe to himself.  "Someone call a copyright infringement attorney on this guy."  

Meanwhile, at the Luxor, Kevin and the gang were introducing Misty to the former agents. 

"Wow, Courage, we just get more and more surprises from you," Jonathan said, shaking Misty's paw. 

Misty giggled at the kindness of these new people, especially D.M., who couldn't stop petting her. 

"Wanna come with us for the rest of our sight seeing trip?" Kevin asked Tortured Artist.

"Sorry," apologized Tortured Artist.  "I'd love to, but I can't.  I'm just gonna hang around here and to know these guys."  He motioned to Jonathan, D.M. and Gareth.  "Plus, I gotta check out this architecture some more!  I've never seen anything like it!"

"Okay.  See you later then?" Kevin asked. 

"Sure. Have fun!" TA said, waving as they left. 

"So, where do you wanna go first?" Kevin asked the trio of mutts. 

Outside the Circus Circus hotel, a tour bus came to a stop in the rear parking lot.  Allen remained in the bus as Joe and the Krew (having just finished their lunch) went in to set up for their last Vegas gig.  

RX and Daisy had already reached the hotel's rear entrance.  "I hear these guys got an indoor theme park!" RX said with excitement.    All thoughts of Dark Sonic had been temporarily brushed aside.

Daisy stared at the giant circus tent looming in front of her.  She shuddered.  "I hear they got live circus performances," said Daisy, unenthusiastically.  

"Hey," said RX, putting a paw on her shoulder.  "Joe told you this wasn't gonna be easy for you, seeing as how you were a circus dog before you joined the band and all."

Daisy sighed.  "Yeah, I know.  I swear, I don't know what I would've done if Joe hadn't found me."

"Ancient history," reminded RX.  "C'mon, let's wait up for the rest of the Krew."  The two dogs stared back towards the bus.  

Gina and Humphrey were already deep in conversation by the time they reached RX and Daisy.

"I just don't see where those groupies of yours come from," said Gina to Humphrey.  "They just appear out of nowhere."

"Hey," argued Humphrey.  "First off, they're just local gals that see our posters, go backstage, meet me, and get invited to my room.  My job is really stressful, so I'm required to…"

"Stressful?" interrupted Daisy nearby.  "Since when is playing on the drums and lying around the rest of the time considered 'stressful'?"

"I think he meant 'strenuous', since he's already got a body like an albino Hulk," grinned RX.  Gina and Daisy chuckled.

"Ha ha," griped Humphrey.  He rolled his eyes as he said, "You're really the comedian in this bunch, aren't you?"

"Hey, I didn't spend my early years living in a comedy nightclub for nothing!" responded RX.

Just then, Psycho and Joe approached.  Both were engaged in a heated argument.

"I don't see why you have to bring this up every time it happens!" argued Psycho.

"Oh, really," retorted Joe.  "You think I enjoygoing over to wake up Gina and finding you with her?  I thought we agreed that you'd leave this kind of behavior back home."

Gina was about to interrupt, but Psycho shouted, "Listen, Joe, I don't…we've been through this before so many times, it's driving me crazy.  I just can't see why you don't accept this behavior!"

Gina finally cut in.  "It's 'cause you were brought up too well, weren't you, Joe?"

Joe was about to argue some more, but instead, he grabbed the hair on the sides of his head and took a deep breathe.  Sounding much calmer, Joe said, "Okay, my parents did put a lot of restrictions on me, even when I was in college, so that does have something to do with it, I admit.  The whole idea just makes me a little…"

"…sick, Mr. Virgin-man?" grinned Humphrey.  Psycho, Gina, and Daisy giggled.

Joe glared at the drummer.  "RX, Daisy, and I are all in the same boat here, alright?"  

"Just deal with it, Joe," said Psycho with finality.

"Fine," said Joe.  He picked up his suitcase.  "But if any of this goes on when we're on the bus, I am so kicking you out the bus window."

"That'd be cool," laughed Humphrey.  Psycho also glared at him.

"Now, where did RX go?" asked Joe suddenly.

"Hey, guys!" said RX.  He had already gone inside and ran back to the band.  "They got a full-sized pool!  It's so cool!" 

"Alright!" said Psycho.  "I want to check that out!"

Joe finally saw his opportunity.  He turned to Psycho and said, "Oh, I think you've had enough water activites already."

RX, Humphrey, Daisy, and even Gina were still laughing at that remark when they checked in and arrived at their rooms.  Their tails continued to wag so hard they were bound to fall off at any moment.

"You are so gonna pay for that, Joe," said Psycho before he slammed the door shut.  

"Did anyone else notice the building looks like a circus tent from outside?" Humphrey called out spontaneously.

"I think that's the whole idea, Humph," Joe said, rolling his eyes. 

The black semi truck pulled up around back of the hotel.  Card Trick was behind the wheel drumming his hands on it to some loud rock music.  The doors in the back opened up, and Phanto and Jester emerged from within. 

"This is gonna be so cool!" RX said to himself in his room.  "I wonder if any circus acts will be going on while we're performing."  Instinctively, RX glanced at his door every now and then. 

When everyone's things were in their rooms, the whole band went out into the hall.  Joe was about to brief the band on their upcoming performance when suddenly, Joe's cell phone rang, catching everyone's attention. 

Joe grabbed the phone from his pocket and spoke into it.  "Yeah, Allen, what is it?" 

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end.  "Go around the back.  You've gotta get your stuff." 

"Who is this?" asked Joe.

"Card Trick is my name.  Ya'll never met me, but you will if you come get your stuff."

"Um…okay," Joe said, and hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Psycho.

"Some guy named Card Trick brought our stuff around back.  I guess we'd better go get it."

They filed towards the elevator and got inside.

"I wonder what kind of a name 'Card Trick' is?" asked Gina.

"Probably some lame rapper name," said Humphrey.  "He's probably our opening act."

"Or maybe a hotel employee," added Daisy.  "There's a casino here, I'm sure." 

When they all got outside, they were greeted by a black semi.  The entire vehicle, except for the hubcaps, were jet black with bright yellow lettering reading REXCO on the trailer. 

"What the hell's this?" asked Joe angrily.  "And where'd our tour bus go?"

Joe, Psycho, Gina, and Humphrey walked around towards the rear of the truck.  RX and Daisy hesitantly tried to peek through the windshield to see if anyone was inside.

Suddenly, and without warning, the rear doors of the truck burst open!  Standing in the middle of the empty trailer was Phanto.  Before anyone could clearly see him, Phanto snaked his arms out to an impossible length and wrapped Joe, Psycho, Gina, and Humphrey in them.  The remaining two members ran to the rear just in time to see their bandmates being swept into the truck.

Daisy let out a scream as RX said, "Whoa, cool!  I wanna go on the ride next!"

"This isn't a ride!  It's a tra-…!" shouted Joe, before he was thrown to the floor with his fellow canine bandmates.

"A what?!" shouted RX.

"A trap!" exclaimed Daisy.  "He said this was a tr-…whoa!"

RX and Daisy were suddenly snapped up by Jester, who had just produced tentacles from his back.  He tossed the two dogs into the truck.  Phanto climbed out of the trailer and watched the band trying to get to their feet.  They laughed as they slammed the doors shut.

"What the hell's going on??!!" yelled Joe.  His voice echoed off the metal walls.

A small window near the cab opened and Card Trick's face peered inside.  "Sorry about that, guys.  Nothing personal."

He closed the window and started up the engine.  The sound echoed loudly through the trailer, making it impossible to hear anything else.  The semi pulled onto the road and headed back to the Stratosphere Hotel.


	13. Lunch, Sights, and a Funny Misunderstand...

"Lunch, Sights, and a Funny Misunderstanding" 

As Joe and the Krew continued their kidnapped journey to the Stratosphere Hotel, Kevin Henderson decided to travel down the Las Vegas Strip with Courage, Sandy, and their new companion, Misty.  

First, they all decided to get some lunch, since it was around lunchtime.  They hopped on a bus and winded up at the first restaurant they saw, which was the Second Street Grill.  It took Kevin about ten minutes to convince the restaurant personnel to allow the three dogs into the restaurant.  After that ordeal, the four of them took their seats.  

The entire place had an atmosphere that was a mix of seafood and Polynesian cuisine.  Courage's mouth began watering as he looked through the menu.  A young waitress came up to the table and offered something to drink. 

"Four waters, please," responded Kevin.

The waitress nodded and went back to the kitchen.

Courage looked through the menu.  All the selections looked exquisite.  The only traces of vinegar appeared to be in the salads.  Courage glanced at Sandy.  She caught his gaze and smiled before looking through the selections again.  Courage then looked at Misty.  The bewildered expression on her face reminded Courage that his sister had only recently been introduced to American food.  

Kevin suddenly said, "Hey, guys, how about I order a big meal that we can all share?"

The three dogs nodded with agreement.

When the waitress returned with the drinks, Kevin ordered the appetizer platter, a Caesar salad, broiled lobster, and a steak and shrimp platter.

"Kevin," said Sandy when the waitress left, "that's over $50!"

"Don't worry, I brought enough cash," assured Kevin.

As they waited, Kevin couldn't help but notice other restaurant patrons staring at him and the canines.  Kevin wanted to blurt out, "What?  Haven't you ever seen dogs in a restaurant before?" but he didn't.

As if reading his thoughts, Sandy said, "I'll bet none of them have been to Europe.  Dogs get to eat in restaurants there all the time."

Courage couldn't help but feel amused by that piece of information.

As they continued to wait for their meal, Kevin went to the restroom leaving the three dogs alone at the table.  Courage thought about sitting with Sandy in the same seat, but he figured that would gross out Misty, so he stayed put.  When Kevin returned, he failed to get any of the dogs interested in some table football.  Kevin threw away the triangular piece of napkin just as the food arrived.

Two waitresses carried an enormous stand with four large plates on it to the table.  Everyone's eyes widened at the sheer size of the portions.  The appetizer platter was covered with mozzarella sticks, chicken strips, and mussels.  Three tubs of marinara sauce, honey mustard, and shrimp sauce accompanied the appetizers.  The Caesar salad had Parmesan cheese, croutons, and ranch dressing coating the greens underneath.  A full-size lobster sat with fries and parsley on another plate.  The fourth plate had a ten-ounce steak lying next to eight breaded shrimp and fries with shrimp sauce.  A bottle of ketchup was the last item placed on the table.

"…This'll do," said Kevin to the waitresses.

"Enjoy," they answered.

Courage, Misty, and Sandy couldn't believe the amount of food that lay before them.  They stopped drooling long enough to reach out for the closest edible entrée, but before they could reach it, Kevin stopped them.

"Keep in mind," he said, "that we are in a Vegas restaurant.  It is of the utmost importance that we use table manners as a role model for the people around us."

The three dogs looked at Kevin as if he was crazy.  Since when did he care about eating habits all of a sudden?

Suddenly, Kevin leaned over and savagely ripped off one of the lobster's clawed arms.  "At least, that's what it said on the restaurant's business card."

The three dogs laughed as Kevin said, "Dig in."

Forty-five minutes later, Kevin and the dogs lay back in their chairs, their stomachs bulging.  All that was left on the table were mussel shells, shrimp tails, lobster parts, a steak bone, and half a mozzarella stick scattered on empty dishes, as well as four empty cups of water.

"Good lunch, huh?" said Kevin.  All the dogs could do was nod their heads with expressions of satisfaction.

"I could get used to this," said Misty.  Courage had to agree with his sister on that remark.

The bill came to $65.28, which Kevin reluctantly paid.  "If this keeps up, I won't have any money left for gambling."

"Yeah," grinned Sandy.  "Usually it's the other way around."           

Kevin and the dogs stumbled out of the restaurant and tried to decide where to go next.  They argued for a few minutes, but they finally agreed to go to "that place with a big ceiling of lights", which was Fremont Street.

After taking a bus northward for a few miles, Kevin and the dogs wound up on one end of the Fremont Street canopy, or 'space frame' as it was commonly called.  It was an incredibly tall archway that towered several blocks over the road.  It didn't take long for Kevin to duck into one of the nearby stores and acquire a pamphlet.  Kevin read the information out loud to the canines:

"The Fremont Street space frame towers 90 feet above a four-block section of Fremont Street and serves as a display system for the shows.  The canopy houses 2.1 million lights that are capable of producing millions of color combinations and 550,000 watts of concert-quality sound.  The shows are run by 30 computers and are accompanied by 218 speakers.  In addition, the canopy houses 180 computer-programmed high-intensity strobe lights, 64 variable color lighting fixtures, and eight robotics mirrors per block that pan and tilt to reflect light, all of which aid in the miraculous display of each six minute Light and Sound show presentation."

"Wow," said Sandy.

"Mm-hmm," said Courage in agreement.

"When are the shows?" asked Misty.

Kevin flipped the pamphlet over.  "There's a different themed show every hour from 6 PM to 12 midnight."

"I guess that makes us a little early," said Sandy.

"Yeah," said Kevin.  He took out a disposable camera he had bought earlier and took a picture.  "C'mon.  Let's go back down the strip to our hotel."

So, the group walked back down the Strip, hoping to see any points of interest.  They played some mini-golf and hung out at arcade for an hour.  They rode on one hotel's roller coaster and stopped at a classic Ford Mustang car display that Kevin desperately wanted to see.  They even stopped to admire the Mirage hotel's glorious fountain out front and debated what would happen to Siegfried and Roy now that their show was cancelled.  After briefly checking out the MGM Grand and New York, New York Hotels, Kevin and the dogs finally arrived at Circus Circus.

"Hey," said Kevin.  "Let's go see if that K9 band we saw last night is here."

"What canine band?" asked Misty.

As Courage and Sandy filled her in on the band, Kevin went inside and received some bad news.

"Their show was cancelled," said Kevin to the dogs.

"What?  Why?" asked Sandy.

"I don't know," said Kevin.  "Even the hotel clerk didn't know.  All he knows was that some guy called up and said the band was a no-show."

"Wow," sighed Sandy.  "Last night it sounded like they really wanted to play here."

"I guess something serious came up," said Kevin.  "I hope they're alright."  He walked to the road and looked across the street.  "Hey, guys!  Let's go over there!"  He pointed across the street.

"The Candlelight Wedding Chapel?" asked Misty.  "Why do you want to go there?"

"Because a lot of famous celebrities have been married there," explained Kevin.  "I want to see which ones.  Let's go!"

So Kevin and the dogs walked over the crosswalk towards the chapel.  None of them ever saw the K9 Krew's tour bus in the Circus Circus hotel's rear parking lot.

Kevin opened the front door of the chapel and looked inside.  There was a small foyer that branched out to other rooms.  Along the walls were numerous photos of married couples as well as information about the chapel itself.  A friendly young woman welcomed Kevin and asked him if he was with anyone.  Kevin made it clear that he was just visiting.  

Once the woman left, Kevin turned to the dogs that were still outside and ushered them inside.

"Okay, we're here.  Now what?" asked Sandy impatiently.  She still wasn't sure why Kevin wanted to come here. 

"Let's go try and find the gift shop, or tour groups, or something interesting here.  This is one of the most famous Vegas landmarks and I want to check it out."  Before any of the dogs could say anything, Kevin said, "Sandy, you and Courage go down that hallway while Misty and I check out that room over there."

"Sure thing, Freddie," said Sandy, alluding to the Scooby-Doo character.

"Funny," said Kevin unenthusiastically.  "At least I'm not gonna say 'let's split up, gang'."

"Uh, didn't you just say that just now?" asked Misty with a joking grin on her face.

Kevin sighed as he and Misty went off.  Sandy looked at Courage and said, "Let's go."  She and Courage wandered down the strange hallway.

As Sandy walked and admired the photos on the walls, Courage wondered if he should say something meaningful to Sandy.  It had been a while since the two of them were alone together…and this _was_ a wedding chapel…

"Sandy?" whispered Courage.

"Ssshh," said Sandy.  "I hear something up ahead."

Both dogs saw a light at the end of the hall.  A man's voice could be heard saying something.

"C'mon, let's check it out," said Sandy.  Grabbing Courage's paw, she led him down the hallway towards the light.

When they arrived at the end of the hall, there was a door on the right, which is where the light was coming from.  Courage and Sandy peeked into the room.  Their eyes adjusted to the light and they weren't surprised to discover that they had found the building's chapel.  A large, white-walled room with stained-glass windows held two rows of pews divided by a wide aisle.  On the other side of the room were an altar and a pedestal.  A cross hung on the wall, and someone was seated at an organ nearby.  There were several people sitting in the first two pews and a minister stood behind the pedestal.  Standing in front of the pedestal was a bride and a groom.   

Courage and Sandy silently walked up the aisle, curious as to how the wedding ceremony was commencing.  Halfway down the aisle, Sandy clutched Courage's arm as the minister said, "I now pronounce you man and wife."  Sandy sniffed as the couple kissed and the people in the pews clapped and cheered.

"What's wrong?" asked Courage to Sandy over the organ music.

Sandy turned her teary-eyed face to Courage and said, "I always cry at weddings."  Courage sighed a response.

The couple quickly walked over to a door on the right, followed by the audience who chased after them throwing rice.  Courage and Sandy ran up to the front of the aisle, trying to see where they were going.

Suddenly, the minister's voice asked, "Is everyone here?"

Courage and Sandy looked up at the pedestal.  They couldn't see the minister, but the minister obviously knew someone was there, because he suddenly began saying, "We are gathered here today to honor these two in holy matrimony."

Courage and Sandy looked around, confused.  They didn't see any couples anywhere.  Maybe this minister was rehearsing, since he kept going on and on with the ceremonial speech.  "If there is anyone who objects to this marriage, please speak now or forever hold your peace."

Just then, a voice from behind shouted, "There you are!"

Courage and Sandy turned around and saw Kevin walking briskly up the aisle, followed by Misty.  "We've been looking all over for you!"

"May I help you, sir?" asked the old minister.  "I am in the middle of a sermon."

"Huh?" asked Kevin.  "You mean there's a wedding going on?"

"Why, yes," said the minister.  Then, to Courage and Sandy's absolute shock, the minister leaned over the pedestal, pointed at Courage and Sandy, and asked Kevin, "Aren't these two getting married?"

Five minutes later, Kevin stumbled out of the building; still laughing so hard he had to hold onto a parking meter to keep from falling over.  Behind him came Misty who was laughing too.  She didn't know exactly why, but Kevin's laugh was obviously contagious.  Finally, out came a red-faced Courage and Sandy.  Courage was so embarrassed, he felt dizzy, and Sandy was so flustered, she didn't know what else to do besides walk over to the hysterical Kevin and kick him in the leg.

"That's not very funny," said Sandy after she kicked him.

"…L…Like hell it is," said Kevin in a squeaky voice.

"Let's just get back to the hotel," said Sandy, who stomped off to the nearest bus stop.

"Hey, wait up," laughed Kevin.

"So," said Misty to her brother, "What happened?"

Courage gave her a look and, after some thought, whispered in her ear, "Something that I hope I'll be much calmer about if it ever happens to me."  He then raced after Kevin and Sandy.

Misty, still confused, followed Courage.

Meanwhile, back at the Luxor Hotel, Tortured Artist was having lunch with Jonathan, D.M., and Gareth on their lunch break.  The four of them had become fast friends, and had spent most of the time showing Tortured Artist around the hotel before they went back to work.  Now, at the main cafeteria, they all took the opportunity to converse again.

"Wow," said Tortured Artist.  "This place is the coolest!"

"Yeah, I admit," said Jonathan, "It does have some eye-catching attractions."

"Speaking of which," said Gareth, as he pointed to a table nearby.

Everyone turned and saw three men in black costumes eating lunch.  Each one of them was bald and had blue makeup covering their entire heads.

"Whoa," said Tortured Artist.  "Doesn't the Blue Man Group ever get out of costume?"

"Not that I've ever see," said D.M.

"Yeah," agreed Jonathan.  "I've talked to them a couple times.  They don't say anything, but they're very good listeners."  He sipped his soda and said, "Hey, T.A., have to talked to Kevin recently?"

"Nah," answered T.A.  "He's still touring the Strip, I believe."

"I hope he's having a good time," said Gareth.  He took a bite of food.

"He's still staying at the Wild Kard, right?" asked D.M.

"Absolutely," answered T.A.  "Same as me."

"Geez," said Jonathan, throwing his fork on the plate.  "That place has been driving me crazy ever since it first appeared there!"

"You mean _built_ there," corrected T.A.  "…Right?"

Jonathan looked at his coworkers.  "Did any of you guys see any construction going on across the street before the Wild Kard opened up?"

"No," said D.M.

"Me neither," said Gareth.  "We left work Friday, came back Monday, and there it was!  There's no way it could've been built in two days."

"Yes," agreed Jonathan.  "But there are so many hotels in this city, nobody seems to notice it."

"So what are you guys saying?" asked T.A. nervously.  

Jonathan cleared his throat.  "I think there's more going on in that hotel than meets the eye.  I mean…the hotel's appearance is just…"

"You get bad vibes just by looking at it!" interrupted D.M.

"Exactly," agreed Jonathan.

"Hey, maybe we should call Chris.  It's been a while," said Gareth.

As Tortured Artist slowly began to understand the eeriness of the hotel he was staying in, Jonathan took out a cell phone and called Chris Gammon over at the Wild Kard.

"Hey, Chris, what's up?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, nothing much," Chris yawned as he fiddled with a chain of paper clips behind the front desk.  "Just as slow as always.  This place is badly in need of some guests!" 

"Well, given its aura, I can see why people will…deter from it," Jonathan said looking out the window towards the building.  He noticed three weird-looking fellows putting up Christmas lights and trees outside.  The "Wild Kard" neon sign was now red and green for the holidays. 

"Who are the guys putting up decorations?" Jonathan asked.

"They just showed up, said they worked here, and began toiling away.  I swear no one tells me anything!" Chris explained.  He stared out the front door as a brown dog with orange hair wearing a Wild Kard shirt fought with the tree outside. 

"One of them is named Dandy," Chris smirked. 

"That's an odd name," Jonathan said. 

"Yeah, well, I'd better get back to work before my faceless boss rides my ass," Chris sighed.

"Gotcha.  I'll talk to you later," Jonathan said.  He hung up. 

Chris went back to fiddling around, pretending to work.  He suddenly noticed the wall of TV sets began to show snow and static. 

Chris groaned.  "Stupid TV cords."  

Before Chris could complain any more, the phone rang and Chris picked it up. 

"Hello, Wild Kard Hotel and Casino, how can I help you?" Chris asked with a grumpy tone of voice. 

"First off, sound a bit more impressive!" Rex said on the other end. 

"Hey boss, what's up?" Chris asked, flipping a pencil across the room. 

"Well, other than laughing at the news, nothing much.  I feel like Saddam in the basement of a farmhouse in Tikrit!" Rex said, rubbing the side of his head. 

"Take some Advil." Chris joked.  "It might help your complexion too." 

"Let's dispense with the jokes, okay, buster?" said Rex in a very serious voice.  "I got a message for Courage."

"Courage…Courage…oh, yeah!" said Chris.  "The pink dog.  Sure, I'll tell him.  What's the message?"

"That's for me to know and you to _not_ find out," said Rex, getting more ticked off by the second.  "Just tell Courage and his merry group of friends that the green armadillo named Rex would like to speak with him.  Got it?!"

"Uh…" muttered Chris with an odd expression on his face.  "O…kay.  Actually, you're in luck, Rex…I mean, boss…because he's actually coming in through the front doors right now."

Chris observed Kevin opening the front doors of the hotel and stepping into the lobby.  Behind him, Courage, Sandy, and Misty followed him inside.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Rex.  "LET ME TALK TO HIM!!!"

Chris jerked the phone away from his ear.  "Awright…fine…ya big hothead," he muttered to himself.

"What?!" shouted Rex in the other end.

Chris put the phone back up to his ear.  "Nothing, boss."  He put his hand over the receiver end of the phone this time.     

Chris waited until Kevin made eye contact with him.  Then, Chris asked the question that instantly changed Kevin's vacation into a nightmare.

"Hey, Kevin, do any of you guys know some green armadillo dude named Rex?"


	14. No More Fun and Games

"No More Fun and Games"  (kind of short this time)

Immediately after Chris asked that question, a look of confusion crossed Misty's face.  She had no idea who this Rex character was.  It wasn't until she looked at the faces of Kevin, Courage, and Sandy that Rex was someone of major importance…and not in a good way.

Kevin's stomach dropped upon hearing the news.  His mouth went dry, and his face turned slightly paler.  Sandy gasped upon hearing the name and grabbed Courage's paw.  Courage felt like someone had punched him in the gut.  His jaw flew open as he thought, "What the hell does _he_ want?!"  

Without a word, Kevin walked over to Chris, still holding the phone.

"You know this guy?" asked Chris.  

Kevin didn't respond.  Instead, he snatched the phone out of Chris' hand and put it to his ear.  "What do you want, Rex?" asked Kevin, flatly.

"Heeey, there, Kevin," said Rex in his sarcastic tone.  "Hope I didn't put a dent in your vacation schedule, 'ol buddy."

"Whaddya want?" remarked Kevin, his anger building.

"Is Courage there?  I want to make sure everyone's there.  What about your sweet, little dog, Sandy?  And, oh yeah, I almost forgot about Courage's long-lost sister, Misty.  I bet she's wondering who I am, right?"

"Yeah, we're all here.  Now for the last time, what the hell do you WANT?!!"  Kevin angrily glanced around as he waited for the answer.  Courage and Sandy were scowling at the phone while Chris and Misty were making hand signals trying to tell Kevin whom it was he was talking to.

"Well, Mr. Impatience," said Rex, "Why don't you just take a look at the monitors behind you?"

Kevin turned his attention to the wall of television screens behind him.  Everyone else followed suit.  The TV screens were still showing static.  Kevin was about to comment about it, but just then, the screens came to life with the "colored bars" and a continuous 'beeep' sound was heard for a couple seconds.

Then, theme music could be heard as "THE REX SHOW" suddenly appeared on every screen for a few seconds.  

"Live from Las Vegas, it's The Rex Show, starring Armadillo Rex!" said a voice on the TV.  That voice belonged to Rex himself who instantly appeared on the screen.  He was standing in a rather dull-looking room with limited lighting.  Behind him were Joe and the K9 Krew, all tied up to chairs!       

"Hey, world!" said Rex with a grin.  He spoke into a microphone and continued.  "We're here live from the basement of the Stratosphere Hotel here in Vegas to interview today's guests, Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew.  But before we do, I'd like to give a shout-out to Kevin Henderson.  Hope I don't ruin your vacation, Kev.  I'd also like to say 'hi' to Sandy, Misty, and, of course, my main pain in the ass, Courage…as well as to all my homies in the Strip!  We're gonna take a quick commercial break, so don't go anywhere…unless you get the brainless idea to come and save my guests from a fate worse then death…listening to the best of the Indigo Girls!  A-hahahaha!"  

The camera turned off and Rex spun around.  The tied-up Joe and the Krew was only an image of them pasted to a window shade.  Rex pulled up the shade to reveal a door.  "God, I love that old cartoon gag!"

Rex opened the door and saw Joe and the Krew snap their heads toward him.  They weren't tied up and were perfectly fine, although they were a bit shaken up.   

"No hard feelings, guys," said Rex sympathetically.  "I'll let you all go as soon as an 'old friend' of mine shows up."  Rex glanced off to the side as he said "old friend".

Joe had a mixed look of concern and fear on his face.  The Krew looked the same, except for Psycho, who looked very surprised.     

"Hey, don't worry," said Rex.  "You know I'd never hurt my buddies!  Now, c'mon, let's go do the show."  Rex walked back into the hall.

"Joe, what do we do?" asked Gina.  RX and Daisy looked worried as well.

"I bet I could take that guy," said Humphrey.

Before Joe could say anything, Psycho said, "Joe, I think it's best if we follow that guy.  I don't think he's that bad."

Joe looked at Psycho as if he were crazy.  "Not that bad?!  He just kidnapped us and is holding us for ransom!"

"First off," said Psycho.  "He hasn't given us any indication that he's holding us for ransom.  Second, he hasn't hurt us at all or tied us up or done anything threatening to us at all.  And thirdly, we haven't been interviewed in a while, so this might be a good chance reach out to some more of our fans."

Joe sighed and stared at the canine.  "You have a frighteningly logical mind, Psy."

"Only when he uses it," added RX with a smile.  Psycho gave his bandmate a glare.

"I'm waiting!" sung Rex from out the door.

"OK, we'll go," said Joe to Psycho.  "But if he kills us, it'll be all your fault."

Joe stuck his head out the door.  Rex was standing there to the right.

"This way?" asked Joe.

Rex pointed in the other direction.  "That way.  I always like to keep my buddies in plain sight."

The band filed out one by one.  Psycho was the last one.  As Rex followed him, Psycho whispered over his shoulder, "Just be careful, dude, I had some chili dogs for lunch and-…"

"Just get going," interrupted Rex seriously…although he couldn't help but smirk at the joke.

Back at the Wild Kard, the TV screens suddenly became fuzzy again.  Kevin, Chris, and the dogs stood there for a while saying nothing.

Finally, Chris broke the silence.  "Man, my boss is ugly!"

"Who was that guy?" asked Misty.

"What are we gonna do?" Sandy asked Kevin.

"We have to get those guys out of there!" answered Kevin.  "Who knows what Rex could do to them?"

"I didn't even know the Stratosphere Hotel had a basement!" said Chris to himself.

"Who is Rex?" asked Misty again.

"But Kevin," said Courage, "Do we even know where the Stratosphere Hotel is?"

"It's the tallest structure in Vegas!" answered Kevin.  "How can we possibly miss it?"

"HELLO!!!" shouted Misty, who stood up onto a nearby table.  "No one is going anywhere until someone tells me who this Rex person is!!!"

"Um, no dogs on the tables please," said Chris.  Misty sighed and hopped off.  She walked over to Kevin and repeated herself in a calmer voice.

"Rex is a former master of mine," admitted Courage.

"Crazy guy…very abusive," added Sandy.

"Obviously, he's here to push us around some more," said Kevin with finality.  He had a feeling Courage and Sandy didn't want to go too in-depth with Rex's history with Courage, so he decided to end the explanation as soon as possible.

"Well, we certainly can't have that, can we?" said Misty.

"Well, let's go!" said Kevin.  "Hey, Chris, you coming?"  

"Nah," said Chris.  "I gotta get some lunch myself.  Have fun."  He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, trying to resist the urge for a dirty joke opportunity.

As Kevin and the dogs ran out of the building, they ran into Tortured Artist, who was coming back from the Luxor across the street.  "Hey, where are you all going?" asked Tortured Artist.

"Ummm…we need to…go deal with something.  We'll be right back!" said Kevin.

"OK…well, if you need me, I'll be over at Wet 'n Wild for a while."

"Yeah, okay, bye!" called out Kevin before he ran towards the Wild Kard car garage.

(Next chapter: Stratos-fear)


	15. Special Guests

"My co-writer and I deeply apologize for the lack of uploaded chapters.  A combination of computer, financial, and school issues have made writing extremely limited, and we will try not to let such a delay occur again."  –Jonathan R

"Special Guests" ('Stratos-fear' is actually the _next chapter.)_

"Okay, we're on in five…four…three…two…one…"

Down in the basement of the Stratosphere Hotel, Rex swiveled around in his seat and placed his arms on the desk in front of him.  Behind him was a fake city backdrop.  A light glared on him and theme music began playing.

"Welcome back to 'the Rex Show', where insanity is the only calamity!" announced Rex with a big, insane grin on his face.  His grin disappeared as he added, "I know, that's not much of a slogan, but this is Vegas.  Deal with it."  A recording of a studio audience laughed. 

"Now then," said Rex.  He slashed his finger past his neck, a signal to cut off the laughter. "Let's continue with our special guests for this evening.  They're a band that has recently come out of the doghouse, so to speak.  I say that because the band is really a band of dogs…or "pack" of dogs…or whatever.  You heard right, folks…they're dogs!  Some dogs chase their tails or drink out of the toilet or sniff each other's asses.  These guys do all that and play instruments too!  Ladies and germs, give it up for southern California's K9 Krew!"

As the fake audience clapped and cheered, the camera suddenly zoomed out and panned to the left.  Next to Rex's desk were six chairs, and sitting in those chairs were Joe Nathan and the Krew.  Psycho sat in the chair closest to Rex, next came Joe, then Gina, Daisy, RX, and Humphrey.

"Hey, don't let the lighting fool you, folks," said Rex, pointing to Joe.  "That's actually a human being sitting there."

Joe forced a smile to his face.  He still had no clue what was going on.  In fact, the entire Krew looked rather nervous…except for Psycho who leaned back in his chair as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Yeah, it's great to be here, William," said Psycho suavely.  "It's been a while since we've had any cameras focused on us."

"William?" thought Joe to himself.

"I'm sure," replied Rex, who snatched up an index card from underneath his desk.  "So, tell me, Psycho, what's it liked being in a band?"

Psycho thought for a minute and jokingly answered, "Well, it sure beats the hell out of chasing our tails or drinking out of toilets or sniffing each other's asses, which I don't think we've done since Woodstock '99."

The "audience" roared with laughter and even Rex chuckled a bit.  "Boy, does that take me back.  Anyway, next question, um, how did you all meet each other?"

"Ah," said Psycho, "as soon as RX stops making faces at the camera I'll explain."  RX's face returned to normal as he sat back down in his chair.  "Now then…to tell you the truth, all us dogs met each other in rather tight quarters."

"Tight quarters?" asked Rex.  "You mean like on a ship or a…"

"No, like at the pound," said Psycho.

"Oh," said Rex.  "Well, I guess that's a good enough place to meet some new faces."

"Yeah."

A couple seconds of silence went by.

"Soooo…" said Rex, "I guess that brings that to my next question: How did you come to know Joe?"

Psycho looked at Joe, who gave him a look of complete confusion.  Psycho turned back to Rex and blurted out, "Oh, it was tough at first.  New house, new carpeting, a bunch of 'Dog, get off the couch!'…stuff like that.  But y'know, after a while I realized…in fact, we all realized that we were all on 'death row' at that pound…about five minutes until our execution when this guy just walked in and took us in.  Joe's part of the Krew, y'know?  Without him, we wouldn't even be here."

Joe's jaw dropped in astonishment.  Psycho had _never been so open about that experience before.  What was going on?_

The audience "awwwed" and clapped.

"Wow, that's deep," said Rex, sounding interested.  

"Yeah," smiled Psycho.  "But then we start watching 'Crocodile Hunter' and it's back to 'Dog, stop tearing up the carpet!  Don't make me say 'Crikey' for the next hour!'"  The audience laughed again.

"Amen to that!" said Rex.  "Any guy who'd bring his toddler into a croc pit with him is messed up."  Rex grabbed a cup of water and took a sip from it.  "So, tell me, Krew, what were your lives like before you all met each other?"

Before Joe could comment against the very personal question, Psycho said, "Oh, you don't want to hear our sob stories…mainly because it'll take several hours and this show is only, what, an hour long?"

"I dunno," said Rex.  "I have a feeling it's about be interrupted soon, though, so let's get on with the questions."  Rex wondered when Courage was going to arrive.  The little broadcast he sent to the Wild Kard should've been enough to get Courage over here.

At that moment, Kevin's Mustang was cruising down the Strip towards the Stratosphere Hotel.  The early afternoon sun was making things difficult to see.  Kevin reached into his pocket and put on his sunglasses.  In the passenger seat, Sandy nervously sat and wondered why there were so many people in Vegas dressed as Elvis.  In the backseat, Misty was still trying to piece together what was going on.  Apparently, they were going somewhere to rescue somebody.  Misty knew the 'who' and 'where', but she still didn't quite know why.  When she asked her brother, Courage, who was seated next to her, he told Misty the same thing that he and Sandy and Kevin had said to her at the hotel.

Nobody said much as the car drove ever closer to the very tall tower of the Stratosphere Hotel.  

Rex turned in his seat towards the Krew, ready to say his next question.  

"Next question goes to you, RX…Hey!  Our names are pronounced the same, folks!  How about that?"

"Yeah…I noticed…" said RX.  He sounded tense and uneasy.

"Hey, RX!" said Rex suddenly.  "Tell us some jokes!  I might tell some dirty ones later."

"Oh, okay!" said RX, instantly sounding better.  "I finally learned the rest of the 'man from Nantucket' limerick the other day!"

As RX recited the profane limerick, Joe took the opportunity and pulled Psycho aside.

"Are you high?  What the hell's going on?" whispered Joe into Psycho's ear.

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" whispered Psycho with astonishment.

"Figured what out?"

Psycho pointed to Rex.  "Don't you know who that guy is?"

"Yeah, someone who's kidnapped us and is forcing us to answer personal questions for a wannabe talk show that's probably not even broadcasting to any channel at all!"

"Joe," said Psycho after a pause.  "That's my online buddy, Armadillo Rex…y'know, our buddy, William!"  (Psycho actually refers to Rex way back in chapter one.)

Joe's eyes stared at Rex in disbelief.  Rex was currently laughing at a sick joke RX had just finished telling.  "Oh God!" said Rex between laughs.  "Ohhh, I knew that was coming!"  The audience was also laughing.  "Hey, Humphrey!  I hear you're good at laughs.  Do some!"

"Well…alright!" said Humphrey, who was also laughing along with Gina and Daisy.  "Okay, a German Shepard, a British Bulldog, and a French Poodle walk into a bar…"

"Hey!  No poodle jokes," said Gina, the French poodle.

"Poodles…the blondes of the canine world," said Rex.  The laughter continued.

Joe's attention went back to Psycho.  "You mean to tell me that that green, robot-armed guy is the same person you've been chatting online with for the past year and a half?  That's your mysterious online best friend, William??"

"The one and only," admitted Psycho.  "In fact, the last time we chatted, he said he'd be in Vegas and would stop by and talk.  I guess this is it.  Sorry I didn't tell you about that, but I wanted to wait until I was sure this was him.  He gave a pretty outrageous description of himself to me, and the moment I saw him, I knew this was the same guy!"

Joe was beside himself with shock.  The undisputed number-one fan of the K9 Krew (as Rex sometimes referred to himself as whenever he chatted with Psycho) was right there, having an interview with him and the Krew!

Before he could stop himself, Joe suddenly got to his feet and shouted, "You're Armadillo Rex, our number one fan??!!"

Rex smiled, threw his cue cards into the air, and said, "Couldn't pull the wool over your eyes, Joe."

Kevin's Mustang pulled into the Stratosphere parking lot.  Once a parking space was located, Kevin cut the engine and got out.  Locking the car up behind him, Kevin made his way towards the hotel with Sandy, Misty, and Courage at his side.

"Now," said Kevin, "Rex said he was in the basement, so I guess the first elevator we come to, we go down there and see if he's done anything to that band."

"Great plan, Kevin," said Sandy, rolling her eyes.  "You might as well walk into an oncoming train."

"Look," argued Kevin.  "I seriously doubt Rex has done anything to the band.  Besides, I'm sure Joe and the band isn't what Rex has his eyes set on."

That remark made Courage look over his shoulder to Kevin.  He had already figured out that Rex was using the band as bait to lure Courage to him, but why?  Was that his only plan?  What if Dark Sonic was in on it too?

"Well, whoever this character is, he's not getting my bro without a fight," said Misty bravely.

Courage couldn't help but admire his sister's fortitude.  However, she had no idea what kind of a being Rex was, and that was what worried him.

It was then that Kevin and the dogs entered the Stratosphere Hotel and searched for the nearest route to the basement.

After several minutes of friendly introductions, Joe and the Krew sat back down in their seats.  Once the other Krew members realized who Rex was, all signs of nervousness faded.  Now they were excited upon finally meeting their biggest fan.

"So," said Rex, "now that the proper introductions have come and gone, let's get back to the interview!"

"Wow," said Joe.  "I just can't believe we performed at your casino, and you didn't even tell us!"

"Yeah," admitted Rex, "I was kinda incognito at the time.  Anyway, we don't have much time left, so let's proceed with the interview, shall we?  Okay, Psy, I know you've explained it to me before, but go ahead and tell the viewers again what's up with your eyes."  Joe's eyebrows arched as he realized that, outside him and the Krew, only Psycho's online buddy had ever called him 'Psy' (just like Psycho's the only one who calls Rex "William.")

Psycho quirked an eyebrow.  Not knowing whether or not there were any actual "viewers", he played along and said, "Well, see that's the thing.  I've been to every vet in LA and none of 'em can explain it.  It's sad, really, because people think I'm blind because my eyes are white.  On the other hand, when they see me playing the keyboard on stage they think I'm Stevie Wonder or something."  

"Teaching an old dog new tricks need not apply here," said Rex.

"Exactly," said Psycho.  "I guess.  Anyway, my eyes aren't the clouded white that blind dogs' eyes are.  Mine are rather glossy…light goes through them but everything's black and white."

"What a surprise," coughed Rex sarcastically.

"Actually, recent medical studies revealed that dogs _can distinguish a few colors, but I don't have that luxury.  Then again, I play keyboard, so it doesn't make that much of a difference."    _

Much laughter came from the automated audience.

"Too true," said Rex.  He took a sip of water.  "Hey, Daze-E!  You haven't said much.  Tell us a little bit of how you grew up with the circus."

Daisy was really caught off-guard by the remark.  "How did you know about that?"

Rex glanced up at the ceiling innocently.  "Well, cyanide…I mean, Psy and I needed to talk about _something_!"

Daisy glared at Psycho for a moment before stating rather matter-of-factually, "I'll have you know it was a miserable, depressing, detestable experience that I hope never to have again."

The audience went "Ooooo."

"Uh-huh," said Rex.  Jumping to a different subject, he said, "Hey, Gina, how did it feel to be rich when you were little?"

It didn't take long for Gina to come up with a response.  The poodle rolled her eyes, pointed at Daisy, and uttered, "What she said."

Rex pulled on an imaginary collar around his neck and pretended to gulp.  "Looks like the opposite sex is a little tight-lipped at the moment, so…um…oooh, why don't you guys play a little song for us?"

Joe and the Krew were a little surprised by the request.

"I wish we could," answered Joe, "but I don't see any instruments anywhere."

"Aw, too bad," said Rex with a grin.  "I was hoping you guys would entertain us with a little vocal/beatbox rendition of your of your songs, but I guess if you guys think you can't do it…"

Not wanting to be upstaged, the band spent the next four minutes performing a mediocre version of one of their songs by singing and clapping and doing all sorts of motions with their bodies.  Rex felt ill and hysterical at the same time just watching it.  When the band was done, the audience applauded.  

"Just don't do that on stage or you'll get kicked off for sure," said Rex.

"You don't need to worry about that, my friend," said Joe, gasping for air.

"Y'know what?" asked Rex.  "I had a great time chatting with you guys.  So much so, in fact, that I have called up Circus Circus and told them that you are going to perform there tonight!"

"The concert!!" said Joe.  "I forgot all about that!"

"Uh-huh," said Rex. "Apparently your show was cancelled when nobody could find you guys, but I called Circus Circus just before we went on air and put you guys back in the line-up.  Your little bus driver should be here to pick you guys up soon."  
After a minute or so of praise and thanks from the band, Rex asked them if they had any final things to say. 

"Yeah, by the way, folks, before I forget!" announced Psycho to the camera.  "Our breakout album is still available on our website at www…"

Rex didn't hear the rest of Psycho's announcement.  He suddenly picked up a very faint sound from across the room.  A tiny 'ding' was emitted from the dimly lit area of the basement…where the basement elevator was.  Rex's eyes darted in the elevator's direction.  According to the little lights over the doors, the elevator was going down from the top floor.  A chill went down Rex's spine.  Something deep inside Rex knew who it was who had pushed the elevator button.  And elsewhere in the room, hidden from view, Dark Sonic knew it too.

One floor above the basement, Kevin and the dogs watched as the elevator lights counted down the sequence of floors to the ground floor.

"Kevin?" asked Sandy, "Don't you think we ought to have some sort of a plan before we just walk into the basement unarmed or something?"

"I thought you said we had nothing to worry about," answered Kevin.

"I never said that!" snapped Sandy.  "I mean, just in case Rex is standing there with a Magnum pointed at our skulls the moment the elevator doors open."

"No, that would be too easy," said Courage.  "That's not his style."

Misty looked alarmed.  "Would he really do something like that?"

Sandy stared at Misty.  "Oh, you have no idea."

The elevator continued its journey to the ground floor.

"Well guys," said Rex quickly, "I don't wanna hinder you or anything, so I'll let you all go now.  Maybe we can do this again from my real set." 

Joe looked at Rex oddly. "You mean this isn't your real set?"

"No, the real one's far fancier.  This is just a temp job, as it were," Rex said.  He glanced at the elevator and saw the light stopped on floor 13.  He knew Dark Sonic had to have been behind the hold up. 

"Well, okay," said Joe as he got up from his chair.  "I guess we'll see you later.  Great talking with you, by the way."

"Yeah, same here," agreed Rex.  He got up from chair and said, "Hope you guys blow the roof off of Circus Circus!"

The Krew got and began to head towards the elevator.  Seeing this, Rex thought fast and said, "Hey, guys, why don't you go take the stairs instead?"

Something about the way he said that alerted Joe that an argument should be avoided, so he told the Krew to head towards the stairs with him.

"Do we have to?" whined Psycho.

"Come on, dog, you need the exercise.  All of you," argued Joe to the band.

The Krew groaned and headed for the stairs, but not before DS slipped up behind RX and said "BOO!" really loud, scaring the dog practically into Joe's arms. 

"Alright, Scooby!" DS said, laughing to himself.  Rex tossed a mug at DS' head and knocked him to the floor. 

"Who the heck was that?" asked Humphrey and Daisy.  Psycho and Gina knew.

"I dunno," said Joe.  He turned back to where Rex was, but he was already gone.  The Krew finally reached the door to the stairs and began walking up them. 

"What's taking this elevator so long?" Kevin asked himself.

"Looks like it's stuck," Sandy said.  She looked over at Courage who was growing more nervous by the minute. 

"You okay?" she asked.

Courage gulped and nodded slowly.  He wanted to be brave in front of her.

"If this Rex guy even makes one insult at us, I'm really gonna kick this guy's butt!" Misty said, kicking the air. 

Courage only stared blankly, fearing for his sister's well being.  She definitely had no idea what she was up against. 

Rex sighed to himself and waited outside the metal fire door in another part of the basement.  Suddenly, his cell phone began to ring.  Rex rolled his eyes as he opened it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rex."  It was Cindy, Rex's therapist.  "Don't forget about our little session tonight."

Rex rolled his eyes again and said, "How can I forget."   
"You'll find a way," Cindy said with a laugh.  Rex could picture her smile.

"Oh, alright. I'll go along with it," Rex said, cracking a smile. 

After that bit of fresh air, Rex went back inside to see Dark Sonic was gone. 

"Where did he get off to?" Rex mumbled to himself as he began taking down the fake backdrop. 

Back on the ground floor, Kevin noticed the elevator finally beginning to go down again. 

"Finally!" announced Kevin.

As they waited they heard echoing voices coming from the nearby stairwell.  And they sounded familiar. 

"Rex sure was in an awful hurry.  I'm glad he didn't want us to be late!" one said.

Courage perked his ears when he heard the name Rex. 

"Yeah, these stairs are killer!" another voice said, sounding tired.

"Oh, come on, you crybaby.  It's only one stupid flight!" shouted a third voice.

The door marked "Stairs" flew open and there was Joe and the K9 Krew, unharmed and feeling great, albeit slightly breathless!

Kevin was surprised.  The dogs were equally confused. 

"I thought you guys were kidnapped!!" said Kevin, who ran up to the startled band.  

"Hey!" said Psycho, who caught sight of Kevin, Courage, and Sandy.  "You're the guys we met backstage last night!"  He looked at Misty curiously.  "And I see you added someone to your entourage."

"But I don't understand!" said Kevin excitedly.  "We saw you guys on TV, and you were all tied up and gagged and…and…" Kevin stopped when he noticed Joe and the Krew looking at him awkwardly.

"I don't know which channel you've been watching," said Joe, scratching his head, "but we were on a talk show just now."

"Yeah," said Daisy.  "Ever hear of the Rex Show?"

Kevin shook his head.  "No, but I know the host."  Courage and Sandy nodded their heads in unison.

"Really?  Man, that guy's crazy, ain't he?" Psycho asked.  

Psycho meant "crazy" in a positive way, but Kevin thought Psycho was referring to the word in a negative way, so he said, "That's for sure!  He…"

"Hey, guys!" shouted Joe suddenly.  He pointed through the glass doors to the parking lot.  "There's our bus!"  He turned to Kevin and said, "I'm sorry we have to cut this short, but we gotta go.  Nice seeing you guys again.  C'mon, Krew, let's split!"

Joe and the Krew hastily retreated.  As they left, they heard RX say, "'Let's split?'  What kind of a dumb good-bye is that?"

Kevin and the dogs stared blankly as they left.

"If they're fine, then we don't need to rescue them. We can leave! YAY!" Courage barked, unaware of it. 

Just then, as Courage walked by the stairs, a palm slapped against the back of his head, knocking him down.

"The fun's just getting started!" a voice said, and Courage looked up to see Dark Sonic open the stairs door.

DS blew a raspberry and yelled "BEEP, BEEP!" before taking off up the stairs. 


	16. Stratosfear

"Stratos-fear"

Dark Sonic's laughter could be heard echoing through the stairway as he made his exit. 

Misty had just enough time to utter, "What the heck?" before Courage ran into the stairway after Dark Sonic.

Kevin ran after him but stopped before he got to the first stair, turned to Sandy and Misty, and said, "Get to the elevator!  We'll try and beat them to the top floor!"  So Kevin and the two girl dogs ran to the nearest elevator, which was already packed with people, and squeezed inside before the doors closed.

Back at the stairwell, Courage began wondering why he was chasing after Dark Sonic as he ran.  Was it because he wanted to know where Rex was?  Or was it because Dark was after something else?  Either way, Courage somehow mustered up enough strength to take off after the demon, pacing his breaths as he ran up the seemingly endless stairs.  When he got to about the seventh flight he looked up, gasping for air, and saw Dark Sonic looking down at him from the next flight up.

"I doubt you can chase me up twelve stories of stairs, but you can try!  You need the exercise!" Dark taunted. 

Courage only growled.

"Nice intimidation factor!  Bet I can make you scream like Howard Dean!" Dark Sonic said, taking off running again.  Courage took off after the shouting demon in hot pursuit.

As he ran, Dark Sonic suddenly began sensing a familiar sensation.  It got stronger the higher he went up.  Dark realized that it was the same feeling he had when he had come across the four riddles that revealed the locations to the four remaining Dark Emeralds!  One of the emeralds must be nearby, Dark thought.  But he didn't know where it was located.  He wasn't even allowed to solve the Emerald's riddle…but, fortunately, there was someone right behind him who could.  He smiled as the feeling continued to grow stronger the higher he ran. 

"Scuse me, ma'am!" Dark said, shoving past a bewildered maid.  He shoved open the doors and wound up in the Top of the World restaurant.  The rotating restaurant was strangely deserted, except for someone getting food over by the buffet.  From where Dark Sonic stood, he couldn't see who it was. 

"Ya know, when filming the show, we never ate here," Dark thought to himself out loud.  He briefly took in the view, knowing Courage was right behind him.  He smiled and turned around just in time to see a red-faced Courage collapse against the doorway.

"I can feel the vibes!" said Dark Sonic, in a strangely mellow voice.  "Can you?"

"What (gasp) 'vibes' (gasp)?" Courage breathlessly said between gasps.  "And why did you want me to (gasp) chase you up here?" 

Dark Sonic laughed and held up his hand, making the first riddle appear in the air. 

"Riddle me this, Courage!  Can you solve this?" 

Courage gave Dark Sonic a bizarre look.  "You got me to come all the way up here to solve a riddle?" Courage asked, even more confused than before. 

"Not just any riddle," said Dark Sonic, sinisterly.  "It's a special riddle…a riddle that can only be solved by one with a pure heart.  And you win a prize if you solve it!" Dark said, making it bigger so Courage could read it. 

Courage had a feeling that the 'prize' would be something very unpleasant.  However, Courage knew that if he refused, he would be much worse off.

Courage couldn't help but read it now that it got his attention:

"_He who challenges this test_

_Stands much taller than the rest._

_Lucifer doth draws you near _

_For it is high that you must fear_"

Dark Sonic was growing impatient.  Courage replayed the riddle over and over in his head.  The figure by the buffet was too busy putting food onto his plate to notice what was going on in the same room.  (He hadn't eaten since breakfast.)

The last line of the riddle tugged at Courage's brain.  Someplace high…the Stratosphere was the highest structure in Vegas…and "fear" was pronounced the same as "Strato_sphere"…and the highest point on the Stratosphere Hotel was…_

"…The top of the Stratosphere antenna!" Courage blurted out.  He slapped his paws over his mouth and gasped.  How did he know the answer to that so quickly?

Dark smacked the side of his head with his hand.  "Of course!" he muttered to himself.  "Thank you, Courage," he said with a smile.  "When I get what I want, you will be the first to go!  Or how about your sweet little sister first?"

"You keep her _out_ of this!" Courage seethed.  He shouldn't have been surprised that Dark Sonic knew about her. 

"Why?" asked Dark.  "You can't protect her forever.  If anything, I see her to be _your_ protector, seeing as how she's not afraid of the current situation." 

Dark suddenly waved at something outside the window.  Courage turned around and screamed.  

Misty was hanging on for dear life from the balcony of the restaurant! 

"How did she get out there?!" Courage asked in a panic.  Ignoring his sixth sense telling him something wasn't right, he mindlessly leaped out the window to grab Misty, but when he cleared the glass, she was gone.  An illusion. 

Now Courage was hanging onto the balcony for dear life, 1,149 feet off the ground.

"You should know damn well not trust anything around me!  I'm the master of illusions as well!" Dark said, smiling down at Courage. 

Courage cursed himself for falling for that trick, but was too busy trying to maintain his grip.  The air was thinning, and Courage's heart beat faster as his paws held on white-knuckle tight. 

Courage watched in horror as Dark climbed like a monkey up to the observation deck above, then to the Big Shot ride, and then to the small antennae on top.  He grabbed the antennae's glowing red light, and Courage was momentarily blinded by a brilliant flash of light and could hear the demon's laughter. 

When the light vanished, a man with long, flowing brown hair, brilliant blue eyes, and flowing white robes hovered before him.  Courage felt fear and amazement at the same time.  He saw the angel wings coming from the figure's back and thought for a moment that he was going to die…or maybe he already _was_ dead and was seeing angels! 

"Behold!" shouted Dark Sonic.  "Lucifer the morning star!  The angel cast from Heaven above!  He deemed it wrong to pray for Adam and defied God by stating that they were higher than Adam and that the mortal should pray for them.  He was cast from Heaven and he took half the populous with him.  And do you know what he did next?" Dark asked Courage.

Courage shook his head, not wanting to know.

"He formed Hell!" Dark said into Courage's face.  "Now that I have him, there's only three more to go!"

Courage snapped out of his daze.  Three more what? 

The angelic image vanished in a flash as brilliant as the one it appeared in, and Dark absorbed the light.  He still looked the same, but Courage's sixth sense told him just how powerful the apparition had now become. 

The more powerful Dark Sonic walked up to Courage again and placed his palm on Courage's forehead.

Dark said in a mocking tone, "May the power of Christ compel you!" (A quote from "The Exorcist"), and shoved Courage off the railing.

For a few seconds, Courage felt complete and total panic.  He was falling towards the ground, as he experienced zero Gs.  Courage prayed for a miracle to happen.

And one did.

The High Roller, the hotel's roller coaster, was passing by at just the right moment. Courage landed in one of the seats up front and gripped onto the safety bar as the coaster continued its journey.

Before Courage could mentally thank the ride's manufacturers for saving his life, Dark Sonic leaped into the seat right next to Courage!

"Having fun?" he grinned.

Courage immediately began scrambling over the other roller coaster cars to the rear of the ride, with Dark Sonic right behind him.  

The ride continued to clatter along the track, which kept dipping and rolling in a clockwise direction around the tower.  It wasn't long before Courage found himself at the end of the ride.  One more foot, and he would fall out of the coaster.

Courage cursed at himself when he looked down at the buildings below.  NEVER look down!  And to top off this madness, the loop-de-loop was fast approaching!

Courage screamed, but just as he realized that there had never been a loop-de-loop on this ride before, the loop vanished; yet another of Dark's illusions.

Dark Sonic laughed, but his laughter was cut short when the ride suddenly slowed down with a jolt.  Courage slammed against the back of the seat as Dark Sonic fell out of the ride.  Courage looked up and saw the ride's operator yelling at him as he came nearer.

Dark Sonic levitated up behind Courage and whispered, "As much as I want to throw you right over the side of this ride, that would be a waste of good fun.  Besides, I think I'm gonna go try out my new power upgrade for a while.  Stay alive…while you still can."  

And with that, much to Courage's relief, Dark Sonic leaped away into the distance.

At the Top of the World restaurant, Rex sat down at his seat with a plate overflowing with food.  (You could've guessed he was the figure, right?)  He had seen the whole show, but did nothing about it.  He had to wait until Courage was back at the Wild Kard before Rex could reveal his "surprise" to him.

"Just wait until he faces me," said Rex, as he ate some shrimp.

The roller coaster operator wasn't too pleased to find a dog sitting in the ride.  He began blaming Courage for causing the ride to malfunction.

"Stupid dog," the operator kept saying.  But Courage paid no attention to the insults.  The near-death experience had left him rather shaken up.  Courage sat down in the middle of the area trying to stop shaking.

Just then, the elevator door opened.  Kevin, Sandy, and Misty shielded their eyes from the late-afternoon sunlight.

"I can't believe how long it took to get up here," grumbled Kevin.

"Well, other people have to use it too," said Sandy.

Misty would've agreed, but she gasped when she caught sight of her brother sitting on the floor with a terrified look on his face as the roller coaster operator continued to yell at him.

Misty ran over and managed to give a swift, painful kick to the operator's left shin before Kevin apologized and helped Courage to his feet.  

"Must…get…on…solid…ground…" stuttered Courage.

With an arm around Sandy and Misty, Courage was led back into the elevator.  Kevin pushed the ground floor button.  "I think we'd better get back to our hotel."

Courage began to wonder if that was a good idea.  Rex obviously knew where they were staying in Vegas.  Why didn't he come after them?  Where was Rex staying in the meantime?  The Stratosphere?  And what other three things was Dark Sonic after?

Courage whined as the elevator doors once again closed.


	17. Ace of Clubs: Painful Truths

Ace of Clubs: Painful Truths

"You still should've let me know where you guys were," scolded Allen.

Joe Nathan glanced at the bus driver as he scolded at him.  The band had only been gone an hour and a half, and Allen had been worried sick.  Their performance at the Circus Circus Hotel was in a few hours, and they were nowhere to be found!  It wasn't until Allen went inside and saw the "Cancelled" posters that he stormed over to the front desk and demanded to know why the show had been cancelled.  No sooner had the hotel personnel uttered the words, "Hotel policy", than the phone rang, and the voice on the other end (Rex, of course) somehow convinced the hotel employees that the show could go on!  He even gave them directions to where they were currently located.  The employee told this information to Allen, and he drove the tour bus as quickly as he could to the Stratosphere Hotel.

Now, the bus was heading back to Circus Circus.  Joe was sitting in the passenger seat, feeling less than enthusiastic.  He had just gotten off his cell phone; listening to his agent scolding him out before it was Allen's turn.

"I mean," continued Allen, "you guys were _this close to having your show cancelled, and that's not a good thing!  What the hell were you guys doing?"_

"Look," argued Joe, "This interview opportunity caught us off-guard, okay?"

"Interview?"

"It was probably one of those 'candid camera' things or something.  All I know is that a friend of ours surprised us, interviewed us, and let us go.  That's all!" Joe thought it was wise to not mention that the band had been unofficially "kidnapped" in the process.

"What friend?" asked Allen, looking strangely at Joe.

"One of our online fans," said Joe. 

Allen thought about asking more about this "fan", but changed his mind.  "And you didn't think to call and tell me where you were?"

"We were pressed for time, and besides my cell was here on the bus."  

Allen sighed.  "What have I told you about keeping that phone with you at all times?"

"The antennae keeps breaking every time I put it in my pockets!"

"Then use the clip!"

"But I hate having to put it on some dumb clip on my belt!  It makes me look awkward and funny, especially when I'm wearing something over it."

"Well, it's the only way we can keep in touch with you, Joe, so I'm ordering you to keep your cell on that clip at all times, got it?"

"Fine," muttered Joe, as he got up from his seat.

"And please don't keep going off like this, Joe!  We have a schedule to keep!"

"Ten-four…whatever," said Joe.  He exited the cabin and headed down to the main area of the bus.  "Gad," he whispered to himself, "Allen's sounding more like Dad everyday!"

Joe walked into the room to see the Krew talking amongst themselves.  He was going to go back into the back room, when Psycho said, "C'mere, Joe, you have to listen to this."  

Joe stopped and stared at Psycho.  The mutt's white eyes were locked in a look of great importance.  Next to him, Gina looked at Joe with an equally serious expression.  On the other side of the room, RX, Humphrey, and Daisy looked very confused, but serious too.

A weird feeling came over Joe, like the kind when you're sensing bad news coming your way.  Joe sat down near Psycho and said, "This is about that interview, right?"

Nobody answered at first.  Then, Psycho cleared his throat.  "Joe, we weren't going to talk to you about this until after we left Vegas, but after the interview, Gina and I decided to talk to you…and the rest of the band."

"Why?" asked Joe, urgently.

Elsewhere, Kevin's Mustang zoomed down the Strip towards the Wild Kard Hotel.  He was in a very bitter mood, not only because his vacation was turning into a complete nightmare, but also because Rex had returned and was trying to once again get rid of Courage, the object of Kevin's dog's affections.  Sandy was in the backseat, rubbing the top of Courage's head, which was situated in her lap.  Misty was sitting next to them, and for once, she wasn't looking at the glamorous buildings that lined both sides of the street.

"You looked like you were about to lose it there," said Misty to her brother.  "What the heck happened?"

Courage only moaned.

Sandy looked over at Kevin.  "Kevin, I…"

"Look, I'm not in a 'talking' mood right now, okay?" snapped Kevin.  "I just want to get back to the hotel and stay there for a while!"

An uneasy silence hung in the car, until Misty pounded her paw on the car window and shouted, "Look, I have had it up to here with this crap!!  I know there is way more going on here than meets the eye, so will someone please tell me…"

"…What the hell is going on here?!" shouted Joe to his band.

Psycho sighed.  "Joe, you cannot even begin to understand the life that my friend William has lived."

"And why do you keep calling him William?" asked Joe.

Psycho stared at Joe.  "That's what Rex wants me to call him."

"But," said Daisy softly, "I thought Rex…or William…was just another harmless fan of ours."

"He is a fan and a friend," said Psycho.  He almost sounded proud of that sentence.  "But he's by no means harmless.  He has done really terrible stuff…stuff that even I didn't believe until he started going into detail about it.  William still knows some pretty horrible people and things.  I mean…"

"…They're out of your league," muttered Courage to Misty.  "They're totally insane and you don't stand a chance."

"Gee," said Misty, hurtfully, "way to believe in me, bro."

"Misty," said Sandy, "Courage doesn't doubt you.  He just fears for your safety as well as your well-being.  It's him they want, not you."

"But what makes them so dangerous that Courage doesn't want me to go against them?" argued Misty.  "They just look like ordinary people to me."

"Ordinary?!" shouted Kevin suddenly.  "Misty, I know you probably didn't get a good look at Rex when he sent us that televised transmission, but…"

"…that guy is by no means 'ordinary'!" said Humphrey.

Psycho glared at the drummer.  "I'll admit that he even gave ME the creeps when I first met him, but after a while, I got used to his appearance."

Joe quirked an eyebrow.  "You mean he sent you a picture of himself?  How come you never showed it to us?"

"It just never occurred to me," admitted Psycho.  "Actually, I had wanted to, but everyone was always so busy, what with the band and all, that I started to miss having actual conversations with someone.  Then, I met William, and we became online buddies.  You understood my personal need to have friends outside the band, Joe, which is probably why you were never interested in who I was talking to."

Joe had to admit that Psycho had a point.

"So," said RX, "His metallic arms and legs and tail don't bother you?"

"Nah," said Psycho, shrugging his shoulders.

Before Joe could ask how Rex acquired the metal body parts, Daisy said, "Isn't it dangerous having metal limbs like that?  Couldn't someone get hurt?"

Psycho looked down.  "All too often, I'm afraid.  Don't worry, he doesn't do it so much so now, but back in his day, he was a one-man battlefield.  He still has a lot of weaponry stored in those metal appendages, like he's a bad-ass tank or something."  Joe and the Krew looked at Psycho oddly.  "Those were his own words.  Anyway, he got to know some pretty strange and dangerous people along the way…"

"What makes them so dangerous, bro?" asked Misty to Courage.

Courage sighed, lifted his chin off of Sandy's lap, and rolled over onto his back.  "Okay…it's like this.  Rex used to be my owner before Eustace and Muriel found me…"

"He had, without a doubt, the most turbulent and emotional life I had ever seen," said Psycho.  "He told me all about his childhood, and how he witnessed some really bad things when he was little, and how it affected him."

"…and he had me as company," continued Courage.  "But…"

"…he started going insane," recalled Psycho, "and not the happy, laughing-a-lot kind of insane.  This was the deep, emotional, screwed-for-life kind of insane.  I actually remember once a long time ago, we had this brief chat about some 'stupid dog' that he used to beat up.  I don't think William mentioned the name.  Anyway…"

"…he began to abuse me to the point where he eventually abandoned me," muttered Courage.  His voice grew tight.  He always hated telling this part of his life.  "I never knew what his problem was, but…"

"…he's certainly gotten worse instead of better," said Psycho.

"He seemed okay to me," said RX.  Humphrey, Daisy, and Gina agreed.

"Well," said Psycho, "a couple chats ago, William mentioned that he was getting 'therapy' from some girl named Cindy, but I don't know how that's going.  I should've talked to him about that during the interview."

"And the other guy?" asked Misty, feeling her brother's pain.

"That's Dark Sonic.  I guess Rex somehow created him as a clone of Sonic, who he claims made him go to the brink he's at now."

"Sonic?" asked Misty.  "Sonic the Hedgehog?  No wonder he looks so familiar!"

"Exactly," added Courage.  "I don't know if it was an accident or deliberate, but somehow this clone became a basket case with all the powers of Hell at his disposal.  Anything evil, unholy, or part of what he claims is his true form is what he seeks." Courage said. 

If it had come from anyone else, Misty would never have believed it, but this was her brother talking.  The possibility of a demon Sonic-clone here in Vegas, despite how outrageous that sounded, was no laughing matter, and Misty knew it.

"And the other guy?" asked Joe…the same question Misty had asked.

Psycho and Gina looked at each other.  "I don't know too much about him," said Psycho, "but his name's Dark Sonic, and he revealed himself to Gina first."

"Actually," said Gina.  "He sent insulting messages to me for a while.  It wasn't until he started talking about how he was invading RX's dreams that I started to suspect…"

"Then I'm not going crazy?!" interrupted RX.  "That was a real person I saw?!"

"Yes, but he kept saying that he was an evil entity…a demon with phenomenally dark powers.  I didn't believe it at first, but after RX's dreams, he started talking about really terrible things that were going to happen.  The climax was when he sent a message saying that tomorrow he was going to have a field day and kept saying it was going to be one of the funnest days he's ever had."

"When did he send you that message?" asked Joe.

Gina looked tearfully at Joe.  "September 10th, 2001."

A weight sunk into everyone's stomach, especially Joe's.  Daisy and Humphrey were shocked beyond belief.  RX didn't believe it.  To prove it, Gina pulled out a piece of paper from deep within a drawer.  It was the before-mentioned message, and it was dated 09/10/01.

"No wonder you went so crazy the next day," Joe whispered to Gina.  "Well, what has he told you since then?"

"His last message said that he'd meet us in Vegas.  When we were at the Wild Kard, he talked to me…"

"He scared me back then too," interrupted RX.

"He warned us not to interfere with his plans or something.  But Joe," said Gina.  Her eyes were wide in a mix of fright and alarm.  "Dark Sonic knows Rex."

"Well, course he does," said Joe.  "He invaded his dreams and…"

"No, not him," Gina said, pointing to RX.  "I mean William."

Joe's jaw dropped, as did Humphrey's and Daisy's.  RX just looked terrified.  Joe turned to Psycho.  "Did you know about this?"

"Gina told me about it last night," muttered Psycho.  "I swear I didn't know anything before then."

No one said anything for a while.  

Then Humphrey said, "So, what do we do now?"

Joe got to his feet.  "What we are gonna do is, we're going to go do our performance at Circus Circus, and the minute that show is over, we are packing up and getting out of this damn city!"

RX looked a little relieved.

Joe continued, "Gina, as soon as you can, get on the computer and get rid of whatever screen name that Dark Sonic guy is using!  I don't want that demon or whatever he is threatening us anymore!"

"Joe, I've tried three different Instant Messengers already!" exclaimed Gina.  "No matter what I do he always contacts us!"

"Well, take them off the computer!  I don't care how, just keep the guy from contacting us!"  Joe suddenly turned and pointed at Psycho.  "And you!!  I don't want you talking to William anymore, got it?!" 

Psycho felt like he'd been punched in the gut.  Was Joe serious?  "Joe, listen, I…"

"No, you listen to me!!!" yelled Joe.  "Your friend William is the entire reason why all this has been happening!  I am not going to sacrifice the safety of this band to some demon or his friend or anyone else!!  Now take his name off the computer, now!!!"  With that Joe turned around and stomped towards the front of the bus.

"You can't do that, Joe!!" screamed Psycho, as Joe threw open the door to the cabin.  "William is NOTHING like Dark Sonic!!!"

Joe slammed the cabin door shut.  Psycho cursed out loud as he slammed his paw into the side of the wall.  Before the rest of the Krew could do anything, Psycho ran to the back room and slammed the door shut behind him.

The rest of the Krew looked at each other nervously as the bus pulled into the Circus Circus parking lot.

At the same time, Kevin's Mustang pulled into the parking garage of the Wild Kard Hotel.  It was ten minutes after five, and the late afternoon sun was dipping lower towards the horizon.  Nobody said a word as Kevin locked the car up, took the elevator to their room, and walked down the hallway.  Kevin didn't even bother returning the key to Card Trick, the rabbit.  He was sick of seeing faces that gave him the creeps.

"I still think I could take them," muttered Sandy, as Kevin fumbled in his pocket for the key to the room.

Courage, hearing his sister's comment let out a frustrated sigh.  "Misty," said Courage, looking her in the eye, "I appreciate you wanting to help me, but I can't afford to let anything happen to you."

"But…"

"No buts," Courage commanded.  "You're all I got left of my family, and if you got hurt or worse trying to help me, I'd never forgive myself.  It's me they want.  Let me handle it."

Misty sighed, defeated.  Courage had a point, but she still wanted to help.  She just couldn't stand there doing nothing while those two wackos beat her brother senseless.

Kevin finally got the door unlocked and they stepped into the room.  Kevin crashed onto the bed and began watching TV to clear his mind.  Misty went out to the balcony.

"C'mon, Courage," said Sandy, "Let's get washed up.  You look terrible."

Courage smiled, probably for the first time all day.  The two went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Meanwhile, as everything in this chapter was going on, Dark Sonic had been trying out his new power upgrade.  Of course, given the spectacle that had gone on at the top of the Stratosphere earlier, Dark decided to try his new powers in less obvious ways.  He tinkered with the one-armed bandits in numerous casinos, caused several rides to malfunction all over the city, and even controlled the huge fountains at the base of the Mirage Hotel and Casino.  As he was passing over the Disney-ish spires of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Dark Sonic began thinking to himself.

"According to what I've learned, I can pull souls from Heaven and add them to the masses.  That means I can loophole the contract that states that all pure hearts go to heaven.  If one of those brats dies, then I can take their soul for myself anyways.  Let's see…Lucifer is the gateway between Heaven and Hell.  That means Courage's sister, Misty, can be mine!  Her heart is the most pure given her life.  With her purity, I can find the other Emeralds no problem!  No doubt Courage already told her all about me, so manipulation is out of the question…unless…"

An evil smile spread across Dark's face.  This was going to be fun.


	18. Wet and Wild: The Leviathan

Wet and Wild: The Leviathan… (No more 9/11 references, I promise.)

Suddenly, just as Dark Sonic finished plotting how to use Misty to his advantage on acquiring another emerald, a familiar feeling came over him…one which he immediately recognized as the vibes that he had felt back at the Stratosphere.  Another riddle was obviously nearby, but Dark Sonic was currently far above the city of Las Vegas.  Dark looked around for a moment before he looked down.  Directly below him was the giant wave pool of the Las Vegas Wet 'n Wild.  

Dark Sonic remembered when he, Rex, and Cindy were shooting footage for the Rex Show at Wet 'n Wild a few days ago.  More importantly, Dark remembered finding a riddle at the same place!  Putting two and two together, Dark Sonic came to the conclusion that another emerald must be located somewhere in the water park.

Five minutes later, Dark Sonic stood in the shadow of a concession stand inside the Wet 'n Wild Park.  His plan was to lure a gullible person over to him and have that person decipher the riddle.  There wasn't any need to change into his human form because the shadow was hiding his features quite effectively, and nobody would recognize him anyway.  The only kink in that plan was that the person had to have a pure heart, and Dark Sonic knew that there weren't too many people like that around (especially in Vegas.)  Plus, the park was closing soon so there weren't many people in the park at the moment.

For a minute, Dark Sonic considered going elsewhere to find a pure-hearted person, but being the impatient entity that he was, he decided to take his chances right here at the park.  To tell if a person was pure of heart or not, Dark had to use a lot of energy to concentrate on an individual.  This often left him very exhausted if he concentrated on too many people, which is why he didn't attempt it too often.  Not only that, but, being an entity of evil, pure-hearted souls made him feel sick every time he was near one.

So, taking a deep breath, Dark began focusing his concentration on nearby strangers and talking out loud:

"Lifeguard guy…accidentally let his brother drown as a kid…impure heart.  Thirty-something woman…puts animals to sleep by day, hooker by night…definitely an impure heart.  Forty-year-old guy…had an affair with his secretary…impure heart.  Black-haired teen…is a chain smoker, alcoholic, and devil worshiper (my kind of guy)…impure heart.  Fat guy in a Speedo…ugh, I'm not even gonna bother.  That dude over there…Ahhh, _there's_ someone with a pure heart.  Perfect."

And that someone, believe it or not, was Tortured Artist.  He had told Kevin he was going to the Wet n' Wild Park before Kevin and the dogs went off to the Stratosphere Hotel.  Once he arrived, Tortured Artist only had time to go on a few rides before the intercom announced the park would be closing in thirty minutes.  Tortured Artist was just heading back to the changing rooms when he heard something coming from a nearby concession stand.

"Psst…Hey, buddy, c'mere.  I need your help," said the voice.

Tortured Artist stopped and looked over at the shadowy figure.  He couldn't make out who it was exactly, so he said, "Um, sorry, but I kinda need to get back to my hotel and…"

"This'll only take a minute," interrupted Dark.  "Can you just solve this real quick?"  With a wave of his hand, Dark Sonic projected the second riddle in front of Tortured Artist.

"Woah," said TA.  "What is that, a hologram?"

"Uhhh…yeah, a hologram.  Now hurry up and tell me what this means."

Tortured Artist glanced over his shoulder wondering if anyone else was seeing this, but everyone was too far away to notice.  TA turned his attention back to the riddle and read it out loud:

"_People's smiles will turn around _

_Once this next emerald is found_

_Where light can bend and matter change_

_The Leviathan shall be in range_"

Tortured Artist thought about this for a moment.  He had no clue what a "Leviathan" was or even what this "emerald" was for either.  Instead of telling Dark Sonic what a stupid and pointless riddle this was, something tugged on the back of TA's mind.  The riddle's third line talked about bending light.  TA remembered watching an old science show (Bill Nye or something) where a ray of light became bent when it was shined through a tank of water.  TA also remembered something from that same show about how water could change into three different forms of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.

"I dunno, little black dude," said Tortured Artist, "but I guess 'where light can bend and matter change' is talking about water, or something, 'cause that's the only thing I know that can do that."  Before Dark Sonic could react, TA brought his arms out and looked around at all the tall water slides and pools.  "And you've sure come to the right place, man.  I mean, you've got a huge wave pool just sitting there.  Why don't you go jump in and…"

Before Tortured Artist could finish his sentence, Dark Sonic bolted from his spot with a devious smile on his face.  He ran straight for the wave pool and instantly dove into the water. 

Tortured Artist scratched his head.  "Man, these Vegas weirdoes are everywhere!"  

Under the water, Dark Sonic searched the floor of the wave pool frantically before he suddenly saw a faint light outlining one of the floor tiles.  Dark Sonic swam over to the tile and removed it.  There sat the second Dark Emerald in all its glory.  Grinning greedily, Dark Sonic grabbed it. 

Tortured Artist had only taken ten steps before he felt the ground beneath his feet begin to shake.  For a moment, he thought it was an earthquake.  Then, TA heard the sound of roaring water behind him.  TA whirled around and saw to his amazement an enormous bulge of water rising up out of the wave pool.  It almost reached up to the level of the lifeguards' chairs.  Before TA could say anything, a brilliant flash of light exploded from the bulge of water.  The water exploded too, sending the liquid flying in all directions, including all over Tortured Artist.  TA closed his eyes and brought up his wet arms to cover the sudden light until an unnatural growling sound invaded his ears.  The light immediately disappeared.  TA brought his arms down and opened his eyes.  He wished he hadn't.

Emerging from the now half-full wave pool was a horrendous rotting serpent, the Leviathan.  The beast was partially decomposed; patches of blue-gray skin hung from its giant bones.  Its serpent-like tongue hung out of the bottom of its bare jawbone.  The setting sun cast an orange-red hue against the entire left side of the creature, which matched its glowing red eyes.  Water dripped and poured out from everywhere on the Leviathan and fell into the frothing water below.  The creature reared its head back and let out an unearthly roar of torment as its rotting face twisted and contorted in agony.  And standing on the monster's head, between its two pointed ears, was Dark Sonic laughing like a maniac.

For about fifteen seconds, Tortured Artist simply stood there, frozen in terror with wide eyes and mouth agape, staring up at the hellish scene before him.         

When he snapped back to reality, only one thought came to mind: "I'm getting the fuck out of here!!!"

Turning on his heel, Tortured Artist ran towards the changing rooms screaming for all he was worth.  About five other people nearby were doing the same thing.

"Thanks for the help…man!!!" shouted a thoroughly soaked Dark Sonic before laughing again.  He kicked some water on the top of the Leviathan's head as he spit some into the air.  Then, getting back to business, Dark began to acquire the demon's power before anyone else showed up.

The sun finally faded over the horizon.

The temperature outside began to drop rapidly as the Wild Kard Hotel's lobby elevator opened.  Out stepped Kevin, Sandy, Misty, and Courage.  They headed for the hotel restaurant, passing Chris at the front desk.

"Hey, guys," said Chris.  "You don't look so good."

"I know," muttered Kevin.  "We need to get something to eat."

"Uh, okay," said Chris as the four of them walked by and out of sight.

Chris was about to get back to what he was doing (drawing sketches in a notebook) when a voice said, "Hey, buddy, you there?"

Chris looked up and over his desk.  There was Card Trick staring up at him.  

"What do you want?" asked Chris.

In one leap, Card Trick leaped up onto the desk (he is a rabbit after all).  "I'm just so freakin' bored, that's all.  I need some action, some danger, some suspense happening around here." 

"Yeah," said Chris uncomfortably.  "Have you tried talking to anyone first?"

"Are you kidding?!" exclaimed Card Trick.  "Phanto and Jester are horrible conversationalists and Kevin and those dogs can barely tolerate me."

"What about our boss, Rex?" asked Chris.

Card Trick sighed and sat down on the desk.  "I dunno.  He's still my buddy, but lately…I dunno, I guess between his 'TV show' and Dark Sonic and that dog, Courage, and that therapist-slash-lover Cindy, Rex just hasn't had much time to talk to me."

"What about that showgirl you've been crashing with lately?"

Card Trick sighed sadly.  "You mean Lily?  Nah, she had to move back to Texas.  Her husband was run over by an 18-wheeler at a truck stop, and she had to go attend his funeral."

"Bummer," said Chris.  Suddenly, he straightened up.  "Wait, did you say Courage?  How well does Rex know him?"

Card Trick rolled his eyes and sighed again.  He spent the next ten minutes telling Chris all about Courage's short and abusive relationship with Rex.

Chris was more or less stunned.  "I don't believe it," he uttered finally.

"Hey, if don't believe me, see for yourself," said Card Trick.  He leaned in close and said, "Yesterday, I suspected Rex was taking chips from the casino and hoarding it in his room, so I installed a hidden camera in Rex's room to find out.  It turned out I was wrong, but I forgot to take the hidden camera out.  Now tonight, Rex is going to talk to Cindy about his life story or something like that.  That will give you the perfect opportunity to see that I'm right about Rex and Courage."  Card Trick got to his feet.

"Wait," said Chris.  "Where would I go to view the whole thing?"

"Duh, in the security room.  Don't worry, you'll find which monitor it is."  Card Trick hopped off the desk and onto the floor.  He walked over to a door that was locked and said "Employees Only" on it.  Every time Card Trick walked by that room, he'd always hear a strange, mechanical growl coming from inside.  It gave him the creeps every time he heard it.

Card Trick looked over his shoulder and said to Chris, "You ever get the feeling there's more going on here than meets the eye?"

"Every day of my life," answered Chris.  "Thanks for the chat, by the way."

Card Trick smiled and then continued down the hall.  Once again, as he passed that strange door, he heard a low, machine-like "grrrrrr" from inside.  

Chris's thoughts were swirling inside his head.  So Courage knew his boss, Rex, but did that dog know Rex was here?  Unlikely, since he'd probably be searching for him by now.  Chris considered telling Jonathan and the other former agents at the Luxor, but he could do that after he heard it from Rex on tape later tonight.

A few minutes later, Kevin and the dogs came back from the restaurant.  Chris looked at Courage, forced a weird grin on his face, and waved at him.  Courage quirked and eyebrow and waved back.  Before he got into the elevator, Kevin saw Chris's odd face and said, "Hey, Chris, this place won't have any new hotel tenants if you keep making that face in public."

"Geez, everybody's in a bad mood today," thought Chris to himself as the elevator doors closed.   

At that moment, Jonathan was watching television in the Luxor's restaurant across the street.  The 6 o'clock news was almost on and Jonathan wanted to hear the weather report.  Seated with him were Gareth and D.M. who were busy trying to decide what to order.  

As the news intro began, D.M. asked Gareth, "Why do they charge so much for a plate of wings and chicken fingers?  You can get this at least ten bucks cheaper at any restaurant that's not on the Strip!"

"Yeah, but since we're employees, at least we get a discount," said Gareth.

"Oh yeah," said D.M.  "But if we're on the Strip, why don't they call chicken fingers 'chicken strips'?  What do you think, Jon?"

Jonathan answered by bolting up from his chair, racing to the TV, and turning the volume up.

"What's wrong?" asked Gareth frantically.  D.M. looked worried.

"Ssshh," said Jonathan, who turned his attention back to the TV.  The reporter was talking about a recent incident occurring in town.

"…A startling incident occurred earlier today at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino," said the reporter.  A home video began playing as the reporter continued.  "This video, taken by a Florida tourist, shows an indistinct figure near the top of the Stratosphere tower, followed by a flash of bright light.  Unfortunately, the tape doesn't show what happened afterward, but hundreds of witnesses reported seeing the light for a few seconds.  Opinions on the light source ranged from an electrical malfunction to the sun's reflection to the appearance of an angel.  According to the Stratosphere's ride operator, who was inspecting the rides at the time, he had an even more bizarre claim."  

The camera cut to the ride operator being interviewed.  "I was just checking the rides for maintenance problems, so there was no one else there at the time.  Suddenly, I look up and there's this brilliant flash of light.  By the time I could see again, there was this black spiny dude fighting some kind of pink dog on the roller coaster.  When I stopped the ride, the dog was really freaking out, but the black guy had vanished."  

The reporter continued, "The man has had a long history of health problems and was taken into police custody for further questioning.  As to the source of the strange light, it still remains a mystery as of yet."

Jonathan turned down the volume and looked at the others, who seemed really confused.  A waitress came by and took everyone's order before Jonathan turned to D.M.  "Do you know anything about angels, DM?" he finally asked. 

D.M. looked at Jonathan oddly.  "Only that there aren't any around here," she remarked.  "At least, I don't think so."

Gareth asked a more important question. "You think that pink dog was Courage?  He's the only pink dog around here…or maybe it's his sister or Kevin's dog instead."

Jonathan thought it over for a moment and was about to say something when suddenly, someone shouted something off to the side. To their amazement, Tortured Artist ran up to the three hotel employees.  He was only wearing sneakers, swimming trunks, and a T-Shirt…all of which were still wet.  Tortured Artist was ranting at an uncontrollable speed about rotting sea serpents and demons and a weird guy with a hologram.

"Hey, hey, calm down, TA!" reassured Jonathan.  After a few moments, Tortured Artist calmed down slightly and began telling the three of them about what happened at the Wet 'n Wild water park.  

"Wait a minute," said Gareth, "You think this weird black guy with the serpent is the same black guy spotted at the Stratosphere?" Gareth asked.

"That's just what I was thinking," said Jonathan.  "There's a 99% chance he caused the bright light at the Stratosphere."

"I saw a bright light at the Wet 'n Wild too, just before the creature appeared.  It looked just like that!"  He pointed to the TV.  Everyone turned and saw the Stratosphere video being replayed just as the light appeared.   

"Okay," said Jonathan, collecting his thoughts.  "We all don't know exactly what we're dealing with here, but we do know that it's major.  If all this is true, and if that pink dog was indeed Courage, then we need to keep an eye on that dog at all times." 

D.M. looked at Jonathan.  "But don't you think Kevin and those other dogs are doing a good enough job protecting Courage?" D.M. asked.

"If Courage is involved in any of this, he's gonna need more protection than that!" Jonathan said.  The others agreed. 

Gareth sighed.  "This would be so much easier if we were at our old jobs instead of hotel employees."

"What were you guys before?" asked Tortured Artist.

"Secret agents," said Jonathan.

Tortured Artist stifled a laugh.  "You're kidding, right?"  The looks on their faces told him they weren't.  "Okay…I guess I'll be getting back to the Wild Kard then."

"You mean you're still staying there in that creepy place?" asked D.M.

"Well, if Kevin can stick it out, maybe I can too," answered TA.

"But that place gives off a really bad aura," said Gareth.  "Can't you feel it?"

"Besides, the residents there are just flat out creepy," said Jonathan.  "Jesters and crazy bunnies…for all you know, that black spiny dude could be staying in there."

Tortured Artist looked out the window across the street and for the first time took a good look at the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino.  The Gothic-style buildings were tall, dark, and filled with windows, but the odd thing was, only two windows had lights on inside.  The neon signs at the front of the hotel cast strange shadows that were almost as nightmarish as what he saw at Wet 'n Wild.  A chill went through Tortured Artist, and not because he was wearing wet clothes in an air-conditioned room.  

"You're right," said Tortured Artist.  "I can't stay there.  First thing tomorrow, I'm checking out of there and getting out of this city."

"Hey, now," said D.M.  "You don't need to leave Vegas, you just…"

"Look," interrupted TA, "I came down here all the way from Reno to get a taste of the Vegas high-life, and instead I stay at some hotel that's like Rocky Horror Picture Show without the music, I get terrified out of my wits by a resurrected demon thing at a water park, and I just remembered I left my socks back at Wet 'n Wild!  If that's not reason enough to leave this place, I dunno what is!"

"Why don't you just stay here?" offered Jonathan.

"Yeah!" agreed D.M.  "The Luxor has all the fun of Vegas in one place, and besides, we're here!"

"C'mon," said Gareth.  "When we gave you the tour, you said you've always wanted to see the Blue Man Group in concert."

"Well, that's true," said TA.  "But since it's already dark outside, I'll be sure to check in here first thing in the morning."

"Awright!" said the three Luxor employees excitedly.  "Why don't you stay and eat with us?"

"Nah, I got some food back in my room.  Just one more night is pretty much all I can take now."

"Okay," said Jonathan.  "See you tomorrow."

As TA left, the waitress arrived with the food.

******

"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK, VEGAS??!!" screamed RX into the microphone.  

The Circus Circus auditorium erupted in cheers.

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!!  I SEE WE GOT BOTH SPECIES IN HERE TONIGHT!!"

It was true.  The packed audience consisted of just as many dogs as there were humans.

Joe Nathan's K9 Krew immediately began playing a powerhouse anthem as the crowd continued cheering.

Backstage, Joe talked with Allen.  "Daisy's guitar is a little bit flat," said Joe.

Allen stared at Joe, "Are you still mad at Psycho?"

"Damn straight I am," said Joe.  "If I didn't need to check e-mails everyday, I'd throw that computer right out the bus window."

"You really shouldn't stay mad at him, Joe.  I mean, there were bigger threats you needed to worry about.  Concert dates, instrument maintenance, autograph signing…things like that."

Joe sighed.  "Yeah, you're right.  Maybe tomorrow I'll try and muster up an apology.  Maybe."

"Speaking of tomorrow, we're leaving for Phoenix at 9 AM, so don't forget to wake up early for that."

"Yeah," agreed Joe.  "But if our next concert is in four days, we could spend an extra day here if we wanted to."

"Priorities, Joe.  You gotta put priorities first."

Off to the side, Dark Sonic peeked out from behind a curtain.  He had heard Joe and Allen's entire conversation.

"Leaving so soon?  But I've just started to get to know the Krew."  DS took out a "To Do" list from behind his back.  On it was written, "Get Misty to locate third emerald" and "Find fourth emerald".  He then wrote, "Keep Krew in Vegas/Take care of Allen."

"I gotta put priorities first," said Dark Sonic to himself before he vanished behind the curtain.  


	19. And Now You Know

"…And Now You Know" 

The K9 Krew finished their performance at around 9:30 PM.  At that time, Chris entered the security room of the Wild Kard Hotel.  Locking the door behind him, Chris wandered over to the far wall.  About 30 TVs showed various areas of the Wild Kard complex.  For a moment, Chris wondered which one he was supposed to watch.  He glanced over the multitude of screens.  Some showed simple hallways, while others showed parts of the pool or the restaurant.  Chris saw some movement in one monitor, but it was just Card Trick cleaning up the slot machines.  He looked tired and very bored.

Finally, after an intense search, Chris saw one monitor showing a bedroom from one of the ceiling corners.  Pacing around the room was Rex, his hands behind his back and his tail knocking against objects as he walked.  Until now, Chris had only seen his boss during that brief TV broadcast Rex had sent to the TVs in the hotel lobby.  Now, Chris was startled to see a metal arm, tail, and legs on his body.  

Chris scratched his head.  Hopefully, during his session, Rex would explain why he had those metal appendages.  However, currently, all the other TVs were distracting, so Chris decided to turn all the other TVs off.  

Chris looked around the control panel.  He had been in this room a couple times before and tried to remember how to work some of the controls.  He began flipping the switches for all the TVs except Rex's TV.  Then, he flipped the master switch.  All the TVs turned off except for Rex's TV.  Chris then noticed a volume knob on the panel.  He turned it and began to faintly hear Rex's metal tail clanging against the metal legs of the bed.  

Chris turned around and noticed a desk chair behind him.  He pulled it up to the TV and sat in it.  As he watched Rex pacing, he wondered how long it would take for Cindy to arrive.

After five minutes went by, Chris suddenly decided that he should be recording the broadcast, so that he'd be able to tell someone about it later.  He searched for a VCR on the far wall, came across a blank tape by sheer luck, and within minutes, was ready record the footage of Rex in his room.

Chris once again sat down in his chair and waited.  Five minutes later, there came a knock on the door.  Just before Rex rushed over to the door and opened it, Chris pushed the "Record" button on the VCR.  

"Hey, Cindy," Rex's voice blared over the speakers.  As Chris tuned down the volume a tad, he saw Cindy for the first time.  She looked like a cross between a fox and a raccoon, had a nice figure, and was wearing a white long-sleeve cardigan and pants.

"Hey, honey," said Cindy, giving Rex a quick smooch.  "You ready?" Cindy asked. 

"As I'll ever be," Rex mumbled.  "Though I'm still not comfortable about this." 

"You'll get over it.  That's why you need to talk to me." Cindy said, guiding Rex to the bed.

Rex stared at Cindy's outfit.  "What's with the fashion statement?"

"This was all I was able to put on at the time," answered Cindy.  Noticing Rex's expression upon hearing that information, Cindy retorted, "Why don't we save that for after the session…if you're lucky?"  

Rex shrugged his shoulders, hopped up onto the bed, and kicked off his boots.  He got comfortable as Cindy found a chair and took out her notepad. 

"Now, let's start from the top, shall we?" Cindy said in a professional tone.  "Tell me everything." 

Rex sighed reluctantly, not wanting to do this at all.  He felt bad enough already; he didn't want to add more emotion on top of that.

Staring at the ceiling, Rex began:  

"Well," said Rex in a monotonous voice, "it all started when I was a teen…thirteen years old, I believe.  It was all so simple and easy back then.  I lived in a quaint Indianapolis neighborhood, before all that new stuff moved in. Y'know, strip malls and drugstores…things like that.  Anyway, I lived with my mother and father.  Well……… Dad was there physically.  VERY physically.

"He would slap my Mom around and call her a fake and…say I was a bastard of a son and other shit like that.  It wasn't until recently that I found out she wasn't my real mother to begin with.  My biological mother was actually a reptile.  What species, I don't know.  So…I obliviously went through life thinking all armadillos were cold-blooded and could regenerate and things like that. 

"So, before I learned all that, I didn't know why dad was the way he was.  Maybe it was the liquor talking, I dunno.  My only salvation was these two eight-year-olds next door.  They were weasel twins named Nack and Nicollett.  Nic and Nack, a pun, yes.  Their mother, Mary, had problems similar to my 'Mom' and consoled her when needed.  I found myself forgetting all my problems when playing with the twins.  The girl, Nic, was a tomboy at heart, whereas Nack was the typical boy. 

"I never really knew why Dad kept calling my Mom a fake, but one day I just couldn't take it anymore.  I finally ended it by doing the unthinkable.  He was just sitting there drinking booze in the kitchen all alone, so…I silently came up behind him, and……I just flat-out killed the bastard."

Rex clutched the pillow with his robotic right hand.  He sat up and held the pillow close as he continued.  He could tell by Cindy's shocked expression that he had struck a nerve. 

"Doing that marks you for life, y'know?  Back then, they didn't have all that fancy forensic evidence and DNA crap, so they bought my sob story.  Mom knew the truth, though.  She said what I did was wrong but for the right reason.  I didn't know whether to feel good or bad about that.  All I knew for sure was that whatever secrets my Dad had were taken to his grave.  Served him right, I guess.

"Eventually 'Mom' and I moved in with Mary and the twins.  Their dad had walked out on them and they were alone, so we filled the void in each other's lives.  Nic, Nack, and I played, and had fun all the time…from water gun fights, football, baseball, and soccer to the simple things like running barefoot through the puddles and cloud watching.  Sure, I was five years older than them, yet I felt 8 again.  For a while, things looked really good for all of us.

"Then…god…that fateful day happened…the day when I destroyed all my happiness with one blow.  The twins and me were playing football out in the front yard.  It was me against the twins, which might not seem fair, but it was in their favor.  The ball got astray somehow and rolled under their mom's car, and I opted to go get it.  I remember seeing my face reflected off the car paint as I blindly reached under the car…a funny face of straining, with my tongue sticking out a bit and everything.  After some struggling, I was finally able to yank the ball out from under there.  I held it up in victory and received cheers and claps from the young weasels.  

"Of course, if we had know everything that had just happened, they wouldn't have been applauding."

"The next day, Mary and the twins went out to do some errands.  About two hours later, there was a knock on the door.  My mother and I were horrified to see two police officers with Nic and Nack in tow.  The weasels were crying heavily and looked badly scratched up.  The officers told us that they were in a horrible car accident and that these kids asked to be brought here.  Nic and Nack ran over and hugged me as they sobbed, although I still didn't quite understand why.  It wasn't until we went down to see Mary in the hospital that I understood the magnitude of what happened.  She was so badly injured, the doctors said she only had hours to live.  It was a sheer miracle Nic and Nack walked away from the accident with minor bruises.  As the heart monitor beeped nearby, we all said our final good-byes to Mary and left.  I stayed outside the room until the monitor drifted off slowly into a continuous beep.

"We all cried harder than we ever had before in that waiting room.  Nack curled up next to me, burying his face in my shirt.  I patted him on the back, and could feel him heaving violently from his sobs.  This was too much for a small child to handle.  Nic seemed to keep composure, but she always tried to be the mature one.

"That's when the moment of truth occurred, a moment I'll never forget.  A nurse walked up to my mother and explained to her in detail how the accident occurred.  Apparently, the breaks on Mary's car had been ripped apart somehow, and the car collided with a semi.  I suddenly remembered back to when I retrieved that football from under the car.  I remembered the ball…had been caught on something…and when I pulled it out, it must've…"

Rex clamped his teeth onto the pillow and tried in vain to force back his painful memories.  Cindy eyes were watering up, Chris, who was still watching/recording the session, couldn't help but feel sorry for Rex.

Rex continued in a scratchy voice.  "I remember Mary's funeral.  Nack was so upset that he actually screamed not to put her in the ground and ran off into the woods.  I went and found him and comforted him.  I apologized, but he didn't know what for.  As Nack continued to weep, I pondered over that it was my fault.  I had become a murderer again.  It didn't matter if it was accidental…I still killed her.  No one knew the truth behind this, though.  No one but me. 

"After that tragedy, Nic and Nack went to live with their rich aunt somewhere far away.  I was left with my mom and no one else to have as friends."

At this point, Rex thought about lightening the mood, now that the worst part (or one of the worst parts) was behind him: 

"Now, here comes the best part.  Mom hated seeing me without any friends, so she decided to buy me a pet…a dog if you will, to cheer me up.  Mom and I went to the animal shelter and picked out a rare breed called a Pink Lemden.  I know, I've never heard of it either.  The little puppy had mysteriously lost his parents to some demented vet way out in Kansas somewhere.  I think I vaguely remember hearing how they were about to put him to sleep because he was having some conflicts with some red kitten in the next cage.  Anyway, the puppy looked really adorable too, with his little diaper and big, innocent eyes.  We instantly bonded, since we both lost ones we loved and found comfort in each other.  I even was able to acquire some Hooked on Phonics stuff and teach my new dog how to talk!  For months, we became inseparable.   

"Then, one day, I met a new kid in town.  His real name was Olgilvie Maurice Takashi, but nobody called him that, mostly because it was too hard to say.  He was noticeable due to his distinct fur coloring.  And boy, he was _fast_ too.  For five years old, he could beat the whole high school track team!  My school was one of those kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools, so I saw him all the time.  We became friends, since he too lost his parents to some power-mad dictator named Julian Kintobor…who was better known as Dr. Robotnik.  
"No doubt you know who Olgilvie is by now.  Take one guess."

"Yes, you've told me his name before," said Cindy calmly.

Chris, on the other hand, was wide-eyed with shock.  He couldn't believe it.  Rex was friends with Sonic the Hedgehog!  Chris stared at the screen, wondering how it was possible to top a bombshell like that.

"Yeah," continued Rex, "Everyone called him Sonic because he was so fast. He said he was a normal brown hedgehog, but turned blue from breaking the sound barrier.  He said the last time he was clocked, he could dash up to about 760 mph! 

"But anyways, like I said, Sonic and I became good pals.  We used to play together with my new dog sometimes.  When he asked me what my dog's name was, and I said 'Oh, I decided to name him Courage'."

  
Chris nearly fell out of his chair.  Card Trick was right.  Courage _did_ have a past with Rex! 

"Sonic took me over one day to meet his friends.  They were a wide assortment of animals.  There was a fox named Miles Prower, but everyone called him Tails because he was born with two tails.  There was another kind of fox with a French accent, a walrus, and a squirrel, among others. They seemed to form a little clique that I obviously couldn't be a part of, but Sonic and I remained friends despite their tendencies to try and fight Robotnik. 

"I decided I could help with the fight by getting into technology…use it for good instead of evil.  But things didn't turn out that way.  I was working blindly and, well, everything went wrong, and my creations began hurting those they should've helped.  Courage heard about all the names they called me behind my back and began to ask me if this was all true.  I began to regret teaching him how to talk. 

"Having no other option, I vented all my anger out on Courage.  I abused him brutally to the point where it nearly killed him.  He even tried to kill himself and me at the same time because he couldn't take it anymore.  As angry as I got towards Courage, I was even angrier with myself after realizing that I was becoming my father. 

"Eventually, I tossed Courage into a car and drove all the way out to some town in Kansas.  I dumped Courage off in an alley at a nearby vet office, not knowing it was the exact same one he was found at before, and drove back home.  Finally, he was out of my hair…or so I thought. 

"I returned to find my machines had been causing more havoc.  Sonic eventually misunderstood the whole series of events and said I was just like Robotnik.  And just like that, I pretty much lost all my friends in one week.  My mother was gone by now, lost to the destruction of the machines I had built.  I was all alone and had to face a couple of my machines who wanted me to make more of them so they could take over.  I mean, how Terminator can you get?

"After getting out of that little fiasco in one piece, I eventually met up with a man who revealed himself as Nic and Nack's foster dad…the one who had walked out on them all those years ago!  What were the odds, huh?  He was a bounty hunter and said he could get my foot in the door.  Having no other alternative, I wound up working with Robotnik and helping him with every major project he had ever done.  I was behind the scenes of it all, waiting for the day Robotnik would screw up and I could use all these resources to terminate Sonic for making me take this path.  Eventually, all my sanity was lost, and became what I am today." 

Rex lay back onto the bed, but his tail was in the way.  As he pushed it aside, he noticed Cindy staring at his metal tail as if asking how that had happened.

Answering Cindy's silent question, Rex said, "The robotic limbs, as you already know, were a result of a nasty explosion with the Death Egg, a massive weapon that I had helped build for Robotnik.  I still remember the look on Sonic's face when he found me as the architect behind it all.  In one year, I had become a new being.  Of course, Sonic escaped unharmed, but I lose my legs, an arm, and my tail in the ensuing explosion.  Does that seem fair?  Of course not.  Since the wounds were cauterized, they couldn't re-grow, so I had to replace them with these metal prosthetics.  Then, I brilliantly used experimental nanotechnology on myself to increase my natural regeneration capabilities. Now, every injury I endure, from a paper cut to being crushed by ten tons of concrete, I can regenerate myself to my original form.  I'm immortal.  There's no way I can die.  The nanotechnology even allowed nerves to be embedded within the metal, so my metal limbs can feel everything just as well as the rest of my organic body.  It's so technologically advanced, it's scary. 

"However, going back to Robotnik, he was finally killed by his own nephew, and then Eggman took over.  Eggman was really a robot-Robotnik from another dimension who downloaded into an artificial suit.  After a long chain of events, he became human again.  He lost out with Chaos and Shadow, and I drew the line and forced him out of the city.  I took over and left him to rot.  He went to Station Square in San Francisco due to the Freedom Fighters…Sonic and his old friends.  Being disbanded, Sonic and a few others went there to keep tabs on Eggman, crashing in some rich kid's house.  I stayed here to torment the other half of the group and try to assault both areas. 

"So here I am today, alongside another of my creations, Dark Sonic.  I still wait for the day Eggman will be gone, and I will regain control over what's MINE!  I built it!  Why shouldn't I control it?!"

Cindy resisted the urge to tell Rex to stop yelling, but Rex immediately stopped.  An odd look came over his face as he fell over onto his side on the bed.  His legs curled up in front of him as he stared off into space.  When he spoke, his voice was plain and devoid of any authority:

"Now…I suppose you think I enjoy being this evil, don't you?  In reality, I don't.  I'm like that Hulk guy, Bruce Banner; I don't want to become a monster, yet I enjoy it when I do.  I have so much freedom that I give into temptation.  Look at it this way…when I was a normal guy doing evil by accident, everyone wanted to kill me right there.  Now that I'm a villain and do this stuff on purpose, no one wants to step up to me.  For example, Sonic is a hero to millions, yet everyone was ready to kick his ass when they thought he was Shadow.  The military wasn't afraid to approach him and went all out to actually catch him.  Of course, being good-natured, he didn't put up a fight anyways.  When they found out it was Shadow, they feared him, and didn't dare try to stop him.  They didn't know he was just like Sonic in every way, but it was his intimidation factor, and the fact that he actually got Robotnik on his side, that made him seem the figure of power.  When you have power, people fear you.  When they fear you, they don't care about what you do, since they know they can't stop it.  So in a way, I am making society pay for my problems."

Rex's voice was beginning to break and his eyes began brimming with tears, but he kept talking, his voice becoming increasingly louder.

"For you see, I was trying to help people before the machines went wrong.  Then the same people that I tried to help refused to help me when I needed it.  They spit on me, and said this was my fault that Robotnik took over.  Even before I became the man I am today, I had alienated everybody already!  Even if I did revert back to my good ways, no one would care!  As soon as I say that I renounce doing this, people won't be afraid to kick my ass again!!  I'd have no protection, no power, and no authority!!  I would just be normal!!!" 

Rex was practically shouting in a blind rage at this point.  Cindy (and Chris) was rooted to her seat in astonishment as Rex continued his eulogy:

"So changing doesn't help, staying this way doesn't help…I'm damned if you do damned if you don't!  Hell, I can't even kill MYSELF let alone HOPE TO GOD that someone else could!  Being immortal is great if you have something to live for…a reason for being here that's helpful.  But not me!!  I already made my mark…now I'm just overstaying my welcome.  I can't leave this mortal coil, so people have to deal with me no matter what!  If I stop this, I'll just get pummeled.  If I continue, I ain't pleasing nobody.  So I'm stuck in the middle of a goddamn situation that I never even wanted to be a part of! I never intended for those machines to go insane and kill people! I can't redeem myself to society anymore!! I'm too far-gone to be saved, and my only friends would just as soon disown me!! I may have chosen my own path, but it's society's fault that I even had this option to choose!!!…I DIDN'T WANT TO GO THIS WAY, BUT THEY LEFT ME NO GODDAMN CHOICE!!!!" 

What followed was a long minute of silence.  Tears were falling down Cindy's cheeks, and Chris just shook his head, stupefied.  Finally, after what seemed like forever, Rex's chest heaved in and out rapidly as whimpers could be heard inside his throat.  A painfully depressed look enveloped his face as the pillow he had been clutching was nearly coming apart at the seams.

Suddenly, Rex managed to weakly squeak out between whimpers, "…It's all my fault……and it can never be forgiven………………………………………………"

And with that, Rex rolled onto his stomach and began to sob like no tomorrow.  He was actually and honestly crying.  The last time he cried this hard was when he killed Nack's mother years ago.  Being an armadillo, Rex soon curled himself up into a ball and continued sobbing and wishing he were dead.  

Moments later, Rex felt a furry hand brush against his arm.  He opened a red, teary eye and saw Cindy standing over him with her knees on the bed and a pained look on her face.  She slowly uncurled Rex from his ball and whispered something in Rex's ear, something Chris couldn't hear.  Seconds later, Rex and Cindy were passionately kissing and wiping away each other's grief and tears as they continued to sob.

Against his will, Chris leaned forward and pressed the 'mute' button.  Chris turned around in his chair just before Rex and Cindy began removing each other's clothes.  For a minute, Chris just sat there taking in everything he had heard.  It was all true…Courage did have a past with Rex, one more serious than he had ever imagined.  He wasn't sure why, but he knew he had to tell somebody about this.  Card Trick knew, of course, and it was extremely likely that Kevin and Sandy already knew about Courage's past.  So whom did that leave?  After a little thinking, Chris decided to call Jonathan across the street. 

He glanced at his watch.  It was 10:50 PM.  Chris knew Jonathan's shift didn't end until midnight, so now was the perfect time to call him.  Looking around, Chris found a phone behind him on the wall.  Taking out his cell phone, Chris found Jonathan's number on speed dial and dialed the number on the wall phone.  As it rang, Chris banged his head against the wall, realizing he could have used his cell phone to make the call instead.

At the Luxor front desk, Jonathan heard his cell phone ring.  He picked it up.

"Hey, Jonathan, listen…I just-…"

"Chris, is that you?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's me.  Listen.  I just learned some very important information about…"

"Hey, DM and Gareth are around here somewhere.  Want me to call them over and put you on speakerphone?"

"No, no, too risky.  I don't want anyone else to hear."

"There's a private office in the back.  You could use that phone if you want."

"OK, sure."

Five minutes later, Jonathan, Gareth, and D.M. were huddled around the speakerphone in the office.

"OK, Chris we're ready," said Jonathan.

Chris glanced at the monitor and quickly rushed over to the VCR, pushed "Stop", and then pushed "Rewind".  As he waited for the tape to rewind, Chris watched was going on in Rex's room for a few minutes.  It was nothing new (he had cable TV, after all), but given Rex's unusual anatomy, it was an odd thing to observe nonetheless. 

"At least the lighting isn't as bad as the Hilton video," Chris mumbled to himself.

Finally, Chris heard the VCR stop and pushed "Play".  The TV suddenly blinked to a blue screen, and the footage of Rex letting Cindy into his hotel room began playing.

"Okay, guys," said Chris over the phone.  "Here it is."  He then placed the phone in front of the speaker where the sound was coming from so that Jonathan, D.M., and Gareth could all hear Rex's life story for themselves. 

Chris's wristwatch made a faint 'beep' sound at that moment, signaling that it was 11:00 PM.

At that moment, Courage and Sandy were asleep in their room.  Several feet away, Kevin had fallen asleep with the TV on.  Misty was the only one awake when the 11 o'clock news came on. 

"Our top story tonight," said the anchorwoman, "another mysterious flash of light was sighted this evening at the Las Vegas Wet N' Wild amusement park.  Several people in the area claimed they witnessed a massive winged creature rising out of the park's wave pool from a bright flash of light.  When authorities finally entered the park, they discovered the wave pool was only half-full of water."  The TV showed footage of the Wet 'N Wild theme park and the half-empty wave pool.  "One officer said everything within a 500-foot radius of the wave pool looked as though 'a monsoon went through here.' No evidence of any creature was found, yet the park will remain closed until next week."  The camera cut back to the anchorwoman.  "Sources claim that the incident at Wet 'N Wild might be tied to the brilliant light seen from the Stratosphere Hotel earlier today."  Footage of the Stratosphere light rolled as the anchorwoman kept talking.  "Although electrical malfunctions seem to be the most likely sources for these lights, people in both instances have claimed they've seen a 'black figure' near the source of the lights…"  

Misty quickly woke Kevin up and told him to look at the television.  Kevin looked at it and instantly snapped awake when he saw the report.

"…Theories ranging from the Second Coming to Satanic visitations are also beginning to circulate.  Small religious groups in Vegas are planning rallies to celebrate what they believe to be a religious sign.  However, it's unlikely that-…"

Just then, the television fizzed out and Dark Sonic himself appeared on the screen, much to Kevin's shock.

"Hmmm…I might have to attend one of those rallies," said Dark Sonic.  "Anyway, I interrupt this broadcast to give you this important message.  I suppose you've already made the connection already, Kevin, but alas, you cannot stop me!  I have a feeling we'll be seeing a little bit more of this in the future!  And I'll see you soon, Misty!" Dark said winking at the dog.  Misty looked like she was about to faint.

Dark Sonic looked over to where Courage and Sandy were still sleeping.  "Yech," said Dark Sonic in disgust before the TV blacked out and shut off, leaving the room in total darkness.

A long pause followed.

"I gotta lay off the caffeine before bed," Kevin remarked in the dark.

"Who…w-what the hell was that?" said Misty.  "And how does he know our names?"

"That," said Kevin, "was Dark Sonic.  Enough said."

"Him?"

"Yep.  Now you see how powerful this guy is?  Tomorrow, I want you to try and avoid him at all costs, you understand?"

"You don't have to tell me twice, Kev."

Kevin fumbled around in the dark before he reached the bed.

"Shouldn't we tell Courage and Sandy?" asked Misty.

"And what would the point of that be?" asked Kevin grumpily.  He collapsed onto the bed.

Misty figured it was just the sleep talking, so seeing as how she didn't have much else to do, she went right to sleep.

"So," said Chris, after the tape finished.  "What do you guys think?"

There was a long pause on the other end.  

"Thanks for letting us know, Chris," muttered Jonathan finally.  "That'll be all, I guess."

"You're welcome," said Chris, before he hung up the phone. 

Jonathan, DM, and Gareth looked at each other.  All three of them were shocked and upset at the same time.  They actually felt sorry for Rex, but couldn't force themselves to admit it. 

Jonathan let out a sigh before heading for the door.  "I have a feeling tomorrow's gonna be a long day," he mumbled, before they all left the room.

(For more information on Rex's past, e-mail me or Chris, or read Chris Gammon's Sonic fanfic "Hidden Secrets")


	20. The Gears Start Turning

The Gears Start Turning

"Hey, CT?" Dark Sonic asked, approaching the rabbit resting his head on one of the blackjack tables. 

Card Trick's head jerked up.  "You got five aces, you cheater!" he shouted, before he looked at Dark Sonic.  "Oh.  What do you want?" Card Trick said with a yawn. 

"Oh, nothing.  I just heard that you wanted some excitement, some danger, some action, y'know?  What would you say if I could get you all that and more in no time?" DS asked in a suspicious tone. 

"Hell, yeah!  Count me in!" CT said excitedly.

"Good.  I'll let you know when to jump in," DS said. "Now get some sleep." 

CT nodded and headed to his room.  It was going to be a lonely night without Lily.  Maybe Angela was still available… 

DS nodded and smiled.  He was a regular Wormtongue, he thought to himself. 

He then decided to go through with his plan on keeping the Krew in Vegas.  Like a Cheshire cat, he quickly vanished with a grin.

On the top floor of the Circus Circus Hotel, RX was fast asleep all cozy in his bed.  He was blissfully dreaming about running nude through an eternal green field, paw in paw with his fellow bandmate Daisy, when it all suddenly disappeared.

RX looked around in surprise.  Everything around him had suddenly turned white.  There was no sense of space or anything.  Everything was white.  

RX turned around in confusion.  What happened?

Just then, a familiar voice said, "Hello," behind him.  RX whirled around and saw Dark Sonic sitting in a fancy velvet armchair.  He was wearing a black trenchcoat and Rayban sunglasses.  

"Having pleasant dreams, RX?" asked Dark Sonic in an all too friendly tone.

"Wh-what do you want?" RX stammered fearfully.  In reality, RX was sweating and tossing and turning in bed. 

"I just wanted to say hi.  After all, the gang's all here!" DS said, and pointed behind RX.

RX turned around and saw the rest of the Krew standing there in their normal band clothes. 

"What the-…?" said Daisy, looking around.

"Where are we?" Psycho asked.

"If anybody sees the Wachowski brothers, let me know," said Gina.

"LOOK!" yelled Humphrey.  "It's that bastard, Dark Sonic!"

"How'd he get here?"

"Where are we again?" 

Everyone mumbled amongst the group, except for RX who kept looking back and forth between Dark Sonic and his bandmates.  Dark was growing angered at their lack of attention. 

"HEY!" shouted Dark.  The K9 Krew snapped their heads in his direction.  "I just wanted to let you all know that y'all won't be leaving Vegas anytime soon."

"Now wait just a minute, 'Morpheus'," said Gina grumpily, "Who are you to tell us what to do?  You can't keep us here against our will, you freak!" Gina yelled.  She had no fear of Dark, knowing he was more talk than action…especially in a dream. 

"You wanna bet?" Dark said.  A second later, a multitude of weapons protruded from the armchair Dark was sitting in.  Axes, Chinese stars, daggers, spears, tomahawks, hatchets, and knives appeared from all corners of the chair for a moment.  Then, without warning, they sprung forward at a shockingly fast speed, missing RX by millimeters.  To RX's horror, he heard multiple stabbing sounds behind him and bodies falling to the floor.  RX turned around and saw the most gruesomely graphic sight he had ever scene.  The rest of the K9 Krew had been bloodily and literally chopped to pieces.

RX turned back to Dark Sonic.  There was still one large ax sticking out of the chair.

"See what happens when nobody ever agrees with you?" asked Dark Sonic.

The large ax suddenly sprang forward, plunging itself into RX's head.

With a scream, RX sat up in bed.  He breathed heavily for a few moments, before he suddenly screamed Joe's name and struggled to get out of bed.  He ran for the door and threw it open.  RX almost thanked the Lord that the hotel hallway was bathed in bright light.  RX took two steps out the door before something ran into him from the left.

RX shouted again, but it was just Psycho.  RX was startled to see Psycho absolutely terrified and babbling like crazy.  Very shortly, Daisy, Gina, and Humphrey all exited their rooms and ran to their other bandmates.  Gina and Daisy were both in tears and refused to let go of Psycho and RX respectively.

"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT A MINUTE!" shouted Psycho.  "You mean you all had the same dream at the same time?"

"Yes!!!" was his answer.

"Whatarewegonnado??" asked Daisy ecstatically.

"We have to get to Joe's room!" answered Psycho.

"But where's Joe's room?!" shouted Humphrey.  "WHERE IS IT??!!!"

"Calm down, it's over there!" answered Psycho pointing down the hall.

But nobody calmed down.  Instead, everybody ran like crazy to Joe's door, screaming his name over and over.  When they got to his door, the Krew pounded on the door until a very cranky Joe opened it.

"Whaddya want?" asked Joe.  

"JOE!" screamed the Krew.  "We all had a real bad dream with Dark Sonic in it!!"

"We were in a big white place with white all around!!!"

"There was Dark Sonic sitting there like Morpheus from that movie!!"

"He said we weren't gonna leave Vegas!  He's out to end our LIVES!!!"

"No, he said we aren't gonna leave Vegas anytime soon, which means he's gonna spare our lives for the time being."

"LIES!  ALL LIES!!!"

"Yeah, he had all those forks and knives and things pop out of the chair!!"

"And then k-pshh, k-plghgh, k-splatter…we were shish-kebobed!"

"I was killed last," said RX.

"But we all had the same dream, Joe!" shouted Psycho.  "The SAME DREAM!!  All of us were involved!!!"

For fifteen seconds, Joe stared at the Krew breathing heavily and looking wide-eyed at Joe.

Joe had a bothered look on his face.  "You mean…you guys are keeping me from watching 'Skin-emax' right now because you all had a nightmare?"

"This wasn't just a nightmare, Joe!" shouted Humphrey.  "This was…"

"The nightmare to end all nightmares, because it happened to us!" said RX.

"Don't you see, Joe?" said Psycho.  "William's friend Dark Sonic has manipulated not just RX's dreams, but ALL our dreams!  He's gonna force us to stay here in Vegas until whatever sinister, nasty plan he has is completed!!!" 

Joe crossed his arms across his chest.  "Well, maybe this will convince you that talking to William is a bad idea."  

Psycho swiftly kicked Joe in the leg.  He knew the kick itself wouldn't be painful.  Digging his claws into Joe's skin and bringing his leg back, however, was very painful.

Joe reached for his leg and shouted some obscenities and Psycho muttered some obscenities of his own.

"Will you boys stop it?!" shouted Gina.  "It's Dark Sonic we need to worry about here, not William!"

"Right!" agreed Daisy.  "HE said plain as day that we wouldn't be leaving Vegas anytime soon! Saying that he can and will stop us from leaving!"

"Then he killed us all!  Oh God, it was so horrible!" RX wailed.  He suddenly hugged Joe's leg, sobbing, "Why won't he leave me alone?!" 

Joe finally displayed a look of concern on his face when he looked into the eyes of every member of the Krew.

"Let's just see that bastard try to stop us from leaving!" Joe finally said. 

Just then, the hallway lights suddenly shut off.  Only the lights in the windows provided a dim light for which to see anything.

"Brilliant, Joe," said Psycho with angered sarcasm.  "That was the _perfect_ thing to say just now."  

"Will you shut up, dog?!!" said Joe.

"Uh, guys?" said Daisy.

"What?!" shouted Joe and Psycho at the same time.

Daisy looked around fearfully.  "We've been yelling and screaming so loudly the past few minutes, that everybody on our floor should be telling us to shut up by now.  So…why aren't they?"

The band suddenly noticed that this was true.  Every door in the hallway was still closed.

"Maybe they're all vacant…" said Humphrey.  "Or maybe they're all heavy sleepers."

"Or maybe they're all…"

"Don't you even say it, Psy," warned Gina.

Suddenly, the room temperature dropped about forty degrees in a few seconds.  Everyone could see their breaths as they began panting in fear.

"Everybody inside.  Now," said Joe with fear in his voice.  Without a word, the dogs quickly filed into Joe's room.  

"Y'know," said Humphrey, "I've heard that drops in temperature are common during ghost sightings."

"I don't think ghosts are what we need to worry about," whispered RX.

"Lock all the doors and windows!" said Joe, once they were all inside.

"The lights don't work here, either!" said Daisy.

"What _is_ this, a 'Final Destination' movie?!" shouted Psycho.

"Psycho, for the last time, shut…WHOA!!" screamed Joe.

The K9 Krew began screaming and cursing out loud with Joe as all hell broke loose inside the hotel room.  Dark Sonic was slithering around the room, seeming to attack from all sides at once, while he created terrifying, unnatural noises.

Finally, after a heart-stopping two minutes, Joe and the Krew collapsed from the onslaught by either passing out from a mix of terror and exhaustion, or they were simply rendered unconscious by Dark Sonic himself.  Everyone was left in the middle of Joe's room to sleep. 

"Now for fat boy!" DS said with a grin, dusting his hands off.  He looked at the mass of unconscious canine bodies, and one human body, on the floor.  "Now, don't go anywhere, guys.  I'll be right back." 

Allen was down in the tour bus, cleaning up one of the canine's rooms.  He felt slightly ill when he stumbled upon Humphrey's magazine stack and Psycho's rubber stash.  For some reason, it always bothered Allen when canine groupies spent the night with the Krew.  (Technically, they stayed with Humphrey, since Psycho always slept with Gina and RX was too young for such activities.)  A human doing that kind of stuff was bad enough, but dogs doing it, especially in such close proximity, just made him feel sick.  On the other hand, Allen noticed that this past week there had been zero groupies on the bus lately.  He wondered how long that trend was going to last.  

Suddenly, there was a knock at the bus window, and Allen instantly dropped the obscene items.  Running to the window, Allen saw a man in black, wearing red shades, pointing to the door, mouthing, "Open it."

Allen nodded; not knowing whom this stranger was…probably one of the stuck-up hotel employees ordering him to park somewhere else.  He opened the door and stuck his head out.

No one was there. 

Allen shook his head.  Either the lack of sleep was catching up to him, or someone was playing a prank on him. 

Allen sighed and closed the door.  He stood up and turned to see himself face to face with a black hedgehog. 

Allen almost hit his head against the bus ceiling.  When his heart starting beating normally, he said, "Hey, little guy, how did you get on the bus?  You want something?" 

"This is gonna be too easy," thought Dark Sonic to himself.  Out loud, he said amusingly, "All I want, sir, is for the Krew to stay here in Vegas."

"Uh, sorry pal," apologized Allen, "but the schedule's already set and they got to get ready for their next…"

Allan was cut off by Dark grabbing him up by the neck at inhuman speed. 

"Beeeeep!  Wrong answer!" Dark said with an evil smile, and he rendered Allen unconscious.  

With a little effort, he locked Allen in a closet of the hotel and made sure he couldn't get out.

Dark Sonic muttered to himself as he got in the elevator.  "Beep?  What kind of a buzzer goes 'beep'?  I gotta watch more game shows."

Dark spent the next hour transporting Joe and the K9 Krew from the Circus Circus Hotel to the Wild Kard Hotel.  When he was done, Dark Sonic took out his list and scratched off the first two objectives.  "Now, it's time for phase three…another emerald…and a little chat with Misty…but first, I think I'll knock off a few Whoppers at that Burger King over there…"

(Insert evil laugh here.) 


	21. Three Down, One to Go

"Three Down, One to Go"

Dark Sonic slowly walked out of the Burger King holding a very large bag containing at least twelve Whoppers.  Inside, two employees were unconscious while three more employees cowered in fear behind the register, praying that the customer didn't come back. 

Dark looked around.  It was still very early in the morning; the sun would be rising in a few hours.  The headlights and taillights of cars streaked down the Strip and blurred with the streetlights as Dark ran back to the Wild Kard.  

Not soon after, Dark Sonic waltzed in through the front door and glanced at the clock.  It was about 4:45 AM.  Dark's gaze traveled over to Chris standing at the front desk.  He was half-asleep reading a car magazine. 

The demon hopped up onto the desk and leaned in close to Chris's tired face.  "Hey, Chri-is," whispered Dark in a sing-song voice.  "Someone wants to say good mor-ning." 

Chris only mumbled something and looked up.  When he saw Dark Sonic's face six inches in front of his, Chris jumped back, eyes wide.

Dark snickered.  "Not looking at the cars, are ya?" Dark asked sarcastically.  

Chris instantly remembered Rex's conversation he had witnessed several hours earlier.  He now knew about Dark Sonic's past and what he was capable of.  Chris tried to remain calm and only managed to stutter, "Get lost," before returning to his magazine.  

Dark Sonic grumbled an obscenity, dropped a Whopper in front of Chris, and walked off.  "Poor, sad virgin," Dark said with a laugh.  Then he realized he was in the same position and stopped laughing. 

Dark took the elevator up to Rex's room.  When Dark arrived at Rex's room, he was just about to open the door, but noticed a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from the doorknob.  Dark curiously pressed his ear to the door.  He heard giggling and kissing coming from inside, as well as creaking bedsprings.  A wave of nausea instantly washed over Dark, but he shook his head, knocked, and ran behind a nearby corner.  When nothing happened, Dark stomped back over to Rex's door and pounded on it several times.  Dark knew that that got Rex's attention, and he dashed off behind the hallway corner again. 

Rex opened the door and saw no one there.  Dark covered his eyes to keep from getting an eyeful of something scarring, and threw two Whoppers grenade-style into the room.  The burgers whizzed past Rex's head. 

"Asshole," Rex mumbled as he picked up the burgers and slammed the door. 

Dark Sonic then went down to the closet where Allen was still unconscious and tied up.  Dark crammed a Whopper into the guy's shirt pocket.  Dark laughed at the scenario as he left the room.  

Dark then headed over to the casino.  He opened a plain-looking door and went inside.  The room was in total darkness, but Dark's eyes cast a red glow on the surroundings.  Tied down to a huge circular object in the middle of the floor were Joe and the Krew, who were all still passed out.  Dark went over and placed a Whopper in front of each of them. 

"Here's the last of 'em," Dark said, polishing off one last burger.  He looked at the Krew sleeping peacefully in their comatose state and couldn't help but smile. 

Dark left the room with the last burger and stood near the craps tables.  He turned his attention to his list and saw that he still had to find the third Emerald. 

"Let's see," thought Dark out loud, "Joe and the Krew refuse to help me, and Tortured Artist is scared out of his wits.  That leaves Courage and the others in his 'posse'.  Courage won't be too easily swayed, obviously, and Sandy and Kevin are starting to get wise to me.  Therefore, the only logical one who is new to my experience is Misty." Dark smiled a wide grin.  "Well, let's see if she proves useful." And with that, he left the casino and headed back to the elevator. 

After dropping off the last Whopper at Card Trick's room, Dark Sonic knocked on the door to Kevin's room.  After pounding on the door for a full minute, Dark heard Kevin approaching the door.  Dark quickly morphed into his human disguise before Kevin finally opened the door.  The teen wore only a T-shirt and boxers and looked so much like a zombie that Dark Sonic almost busted out laughing.

Kevin rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on this man in black who wore a large black coat and red shades.  "A little early for room service, isn't it?" he mumbled. 

"I'd like to talk to Misty, please," the man asked.

"At 5 AM??  What for??" Kevin asked sharply.  He was beginning to lose trust with everyone after all that had happened.  Plus, he was also acting like anyone who's ever been woken by someone at five in the morning. 

"Oh, I was hoping she would show me around the sites," said Dark in his disguise.  "I'm new here, and the rabbit gentleman downstairs said you could show me around since the Boss was so busy." The gentleman said with sincerity. 

Kevin muttered some gibberish that roughly translated to "I'm gonna kill that bunny," before he turned around woke Misty up.  Normally, Kevin would've been extremely suspicious by this person, but the story was too airtight to be disproved, and Kevin was acting a little paranoid (also, at this hour in the morning, Kevin's brain might as well have been made out of tapioca pudding.)

Dark Sonic heard Kevin say, "Misty, wake up," before Kevin led the dog over to Dark by her paw.

"W-what's going on?" asked Misty with a yawn. 

"This guy said he'd like you to show him around Vegas," Kevin said.  "He's a tourist too."  

Misty glanced up at the man with a lazy frown on her face.  Even in her tired state, her sixth sense told her this wasn't a good idea.

"I dunno, Kevin," said Misty.  "I got a bad feeling about this guy…and besides, why does he want to tour Vegas at five in the morning?"

"That's simple," said the man.  "At 5 AM, there's barely anybody on the street, so we can tour some sights without having to deal with large crowds and stuff like that."

"Sounds good to me," said Kevin.  He turned to Misty and said, "Unless you have any doubts about it, Misty."

"Hey, I can take care of myself, Kevin," said Misty crankily.

"Great," said Kevin, who turned and headed back to his bed.  "Just make sure you come back before breakfast, okay?"

"Okay, Ke-…" began Misty, but she was interrupted when the man tugged her arm. 

"Then it's settled," said the man.  "It's off to sights we go!" 

            A half hour went by, and Misty still wasn't sure how she had gotten into this mess.  She looked out towards the horizon.  The sun still hadn't come up, but a dim purple to the east suggested the sun would be rising in an hour or so.  Misty was walking down the Strip with the strange man.  The man had said he wanted to see some sights, but every time Misty pointed something out, the man ignored her.  Misty began feeling more uncomfortable by the minute.

Dark Sonic was consumed by his own thoughts.  He wanted to wait until they were a considerable distance away from the Wild Kard before asking the location of the third emerald.  Dark looked around and was glad when he saw how vacant the sidewalks were.  There were still vehicles on the road, but not as many as during the day.  Dark smiled.  The less witnesses, the better.  However, there was also the matter involving Misty.  If he asked Misty flat out about the location of the emerald, she would definitely get suspicious fast.  Dark needed to improve their relationship a bit before asking.

At that point, Dark Sonic noticed he was passing the Gameworks facility, one of the largest video arcades in the U.S.  An idea suddenly came to mind.  He turned to Misty and said, "Hey, um, Misty, howza bout we get to know each other better over a game or two of House of the Dead?"

Misty cocked her eyebrow.  She didn't know what he was referring to.  "What game?"

Dark pointed over to the Gameworks facility.  "My treat."

Misty looked at the man oddly, but was curious to see why he made such a big deal about that building.  So, with the man leading the way, Misty carefully walked over to the arcade.  "I don't think it's gonna be open at this hour."

"You never know," said Dark.  Then, using the powers he had acquired from the first two emeralds, he mentally disabled the security alarm and turned on all the lights and arcade machines inside the complex.  "Well, look at that!  I guess they're opening early today."

Misty was surprised, but couldn't resist passing the opportunity for a few early-morning arcade games  

Thirty minutes later, Misty and Dark Sonic incognito emerged from the facility.  Dark and Misty played on the House of the Dead 3 game, and Dark was amazed when Misty got a higher score than he did!  Filled with a mix of marvel and worry, Dark got a high score on numerous other machines, thanks to his "talent" of retrieving quarters from the machines.  After they acquired an armload of tickets, Misty helped herself to a stuffed bear and a large, Whacko-matic wooden mallet.        

"Wow, that was fun," said Misty once they had wandered off the grounds.

Dark Sonic nodded.  He looked to the east and saw that the sky was getting brighter.  His patience was wearing thin, so he kneeled down to Misty's level and asked, "Hey, Misty, now that we know each other a little better, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure, what?" asked Misty.  Instinctively, her grip tightened on her mallet.

"Do you like riddles?" asked the man. 

Misty scratched her head at this bizarre question and nodded.

"Can you help me with one?" the man asked.  "It's been bugging me for a while." 

"I dunno," admitted Misty.  "I'm not real good with riddles." 

"I know you can," the man said.  "It will help your brother."

Misty's ears instantly perked up.  "How do you know about him?" Misty asked warily. 

Thinking fast, the man explained, "I saw him on the news yesterday.  He was spotted during that whole Stratosphere incident.  He looked so much like you that I figured you two were related.  That's what led me to think of you when I was looking for someone to show me around." 

Misty wasn't sure that explanation made much sense.  If he had seen Courage on TV, how did he know about her and which hotel room she was in?  

"How will this 'riddle' help him?" asked Misty, curious for more information. 

"It's just a riddle," said the man, leaning in close.  Misty could see her reflection in the man's red-tinted shades. "But the answer can help everyone…including your brother by making him braver.  It will give him…more courage.  Everyone will benefit from having no fear." A grin formed on the man's face.  

Misty thought this over, weighing the pros and cons.  She finally looked up and asked, "Can I at least see this riddle first?"

"Gladly," said the man.  He held out his hand and the riddle appeared floating above his palm. 

Misty's eyes bugged out in amazement.  "How did you do that?!  You got a projector up your sleeve or something?"  

"I am a magician of great power," said Dark.  "That's why I require the item to help everyone in the world."

Misty was too mesmerized by the illusion to wonder what "item" the man was referring to.  "A magician?  Wow!" Misty said.  She knew Vegas had a lot of odd folks, but street magicians? 

"Yeah," said Dark.  "Either that or a microchip embedded in my palm is projecting lasers off of mirrors to create an image hidden somewhere else.  Take your pick after you solve the riddle, okay?"  Dark noticed some early morning walkers heading his way and grew impatient.

Misty looked at the riddle and thought it over:

_"He is much closer than you think_

_Satanic chants not writ in ink._

_Before your mind's pushed to the brink_

_Stay a while and have a drink."_

Misty had zero clues as to how this riddle could help Courage.  The riddle sounded more like a heavy metal lyric than anything else.  Still, if it was that important to this guy…

As Misty became lost in thought, Dark noticed with dismay that a large man with a shaved head had wandered over and was reading the riddle.  Dark knew that if too many people came by, he'd have to abandon his plan and find some other way to acquire the emerald.  Dark began tapping his foot impatiently.

Misty still didn't know what Satanic chants had to do with a drink.  She glanced from side to side, vainly wondering if the answer was nearby.

Suddenly, her attention focused on something across the street.  An art museum sat on the other side of the road.  A banner out front read "PUSHED TO THE BRINK:  New Exhibit featuring artwork elaborating on the dark and hellish scenes of the Underworld."  Directly underneath it was a smaller sign that read, "FREE DRINKS!  Exhibit opens at 10 AM." 

Misty slowly raised a paw and pointed at the museum.  "Have you tried that place over there?"

Dark looked over to where Misty was pointing.  When he read the sign, he felt like bashing his head with a plank of wood.  Why were the answers to these riddles always right under his nose?  

"'Cause they were made that way," muttered Dark, answering his own question.

"What?" asked Misty.

"N-nothing," said Dark quickly.  "Uh, yeah, it looks like that might be the answer.  You've been a big help, Misty, but, um, I gotta go."

And with that, the riddle disappeared, and Dark Sonic dashed off into the street towards the museum.

"Wait!" shouted Misty.  "How will it help my brother?"

"You'll see!" shouted back Dark Sonic.

"But the museum doesn't open until…" began Misty, but she knew the man was already out of earshot.  

Misty noticed the shaved-headed man was looking at her oddly.  "Dude, I think you've just been duped," he said.

Misty looked back at the man running towards the art museum and instantly took off after him, but she stopped in the middle in the road when she saw what was happening to him.  As the guy got closer to the museum, he seemed to be shrinking!  His head also began expanding as large black spikes were revealed on the back of his head.  Suddenly, the coat the man was wearing came off, revealing a black hedgehog critter.  The hedgehog reached the museum's front door and opened it, but just before he went inside, he turned around and grinned at Misty.

The moment Misty saw those red eyes peering over the maroon-colored glasses, she knew exactly who it was.  It was Dark Sonic without a doubt.  It only took Misty a moment to realize that she had just been the pawn of one of Dark's manipulations into finding…what?  Misty had forgotten at the moment.  Courage had been right about him after all.  Misty gulped.  The very thought of being used gave Misty a feeling of remorse and bitterness that began eating away at her.  She knew Courage was not going to like this.

Inside, Dark Sonic searched around the exhibits with unnatural speed.  The other exhibits looked interesting, but artistic interpretations of Hell (as opposed to Hell itself) just didn't interest Dark Sonic.  It didn't take long for Dark to come upon the third emerald encased in a display case.  He read the exhibit's inscription, which gave an entirely bogus history of the gem, and tossed the caption aside.  Dark carefully but quickly lifted the glass casing that surrounded the emerald and placed it on the floor.  With the silence of a deactivated-alarm system ringing in his ears, Dark Sonic reached out to grab the emerald, but just before he snatched it up, he stopped.  He remembered the chaos that had ensued while retrieving the first two emeralds.  One more outburst like that, and the whole city would be in an uproar.  As much as he wanted that to happen, Dark decided to go against his gut instinct and be as cautious as possible while collecting this third emerald.  He needed to be in complete control this time.  He needed to have total concentration.  He needed…

"I need to stop this positive thinking!" shouted Dark Sonic.  Forgetting everything he had just thought up, Dark grabbed the emerald.

Outside, a blaring honk and a screech of tires made Misty jump as a car swerved past the startled canine, missing her by inches.  Misty continued running to the opposite sidewalk and stood in front of the museum wondering what to do next.

She didn't have a chance to find out.

Without warning, a strange cry inside the museum grabbed Misty's attention.  Instantly, a rumbling sound grew louder and the ground beneath Misty's paws began to vibrate.  Suddenly, blinding rays of red light leaped out of all the museum windows just before they exploded.  Misty yelped as glass shattered and flew down all over the pavement below.  As the startled canine fell on her side, there came a crash that sounded like the entire back wall of the museum caved in.  Misty looked up and was terrified to see some of the roof give way to an enormous form.  The form slowly stood up, turned around, and stared at the street behind Misty.

The creature appeared to be made out of rock.  Its humanoid shape had gravelly skin that was rougher than sandpaper.  Lava flowed within like blood through veins.  Two red eyes looked around angrily before it let out an earth-shattering roar, revealing yellow, craggily teeth.   

Misty was too horrified to notice that the creature never stepped over the museum onto the sidewalk.  It stayed behind the museum's rear wall.  It was also crouching down slightly between two taller buildings on either side, so that you could only see the monster if you looked at it head on.  

Misty crawled backwards until she hit a parking meter.  The heat coming from the monster was unbearable.  Misty panted heavily as she stared up at the beast fearfully.

"Behold!" yelled a voice.  Misty squinted her eyes and saw Dark Sonic waving from the creature's right shoulder.  "Belial, demon of the earth!  Everything of the earth-realm falls before he!  He is of the earth, and the earth is of he!  The crust is his flesh, the lava his blood!" Dark Sonic recited, spinning around on the golem's shoulder.           

Misty let out a shriek when the creature raised a stony foot and stretched it over to where she was, attempting to crush her.

"What's the matter?!" asked Dark Sonic.  "Don't be scared!  Everyone will benefit from having no fear…since they'll all be dead!!!"  Dark Sonic let out an evil-villain laugh.  

Belial brought his leg back and stomped his foot into the ground directly behind the museum.  A sound like a bomb going off rang in Misty's ears and the ground shook so hard, she was thrown off balance.  Nearby buildings crumbled slightly and glass showered down.  Car alarms of nearby parked cars went off and cars driving down the road braked hard.

Misty looked across the street and saw the shaved-headed man running off and decided to do the same.  With Dark Sonic's laughter still ringing in her ears, Misty grabbed her mallet and ran back down the Strip towards the Wild Kard Hotel as fast as her paws could carry her.  A bright white light flashed behind her for a brief moment, but Misty didn't turn back to see what it was.  Realizing she could run faster on all fours, Misty put the mallet's handle in her mouth and ran on all fours down the sidewalk.

"Good lord, what have I done?" she asked herself.


	22. Prelude to Madness

A.N.: College finals are over at last, but my computer's come down with a virus.  Those two reasons are why this chapter took so long. –Jonathan R

Prelude to Madness

With a mighty leap, Dark Sonic shot up into the air.  He left behind the partially destroyed building that was once a modern art museum.  Curious onlookers were beginning to gather around the wreckage, and far away, emergency vehicles could be heard approaching the scene.

Dark Sonic could see that the sun was almost about to peek over the horizon.  The warm colors of twilight were amazingly beautiful that morning, and the hues reflected nicely off of Dark's eyes.

But Dark Sonic didn't have his thoughts anywhere near the early morning sunrise.  His thoughts were somewhere else…somewhere that wasn't as pleasant as the morning sky above Vegas.

After acquiring the third demon, Dark Sonic now felt slightly different than before.  He now had three of the four emerald's powers in his possession. Dark knew that every time he absorbed the power of each emerald's demon, he became more omnipotent and powerful.  

He also became more impatient.  As Dark Sonic came closer and closer to the Wild Kard Hotel, he began questioning why Courage was still alive and why Rex hadn't killed him yet.  Dark had always been annoyed by this before, but now he was really at the breaking point.  There was no way he could tolerate this constant delay any longer.  As Dark touched down on the roof of the Wild Kard, he had come to a decision:

As soon as the sun emerged over the horizon, Dark would make sure that Courage would meet his doom.

Dark looked to the east before dashing inside a stairway.  By his calculations, it would be about half an hour before sunrise.  That would give him just enough time to have everything set up…if he worked fast.

In two minutes, Dark appeared at Rex's door and pounded madly on it until Rex answered it.

"Dammit, Dark, I'm awake already!" shouted the peeved armadillo.  "Whaddya wa-?"

"Let's do it," said Dark Sonic eagerly.  "Right here, right now.  Whaddya say?"

"Umm…" said Rex uneasily.  He looked towards the bathroom, where Cindy was taking a shower.  "Here?  Now?  This is…kinda sudden ain't it?"

"C'mon!" urged Dark.  "Let's go down and get rid of Courage once and for all!  Before the sun rises.  Right now!"

"Oh…I knew that," fumbled Rex.  A look of thoughtfulness crossed his face as he said, "Hmmm…The chance to finally do away with one of my worst enemies…and all before breakfast…" Rex looked at Dark as a whimsical smirk appeared on his face.  "Well, it's about damn time!  I was beginning to think I was only here for the Rex Show and showgirls."

"Well, come on!" shouted Dark, already heading down the hall.  "What're we waiting for?  Let's go!"

"Hold it!" shouted Rex, stopping Dark in his tracks.

"What?!"

"Courage is still in his room right now," said Rex.  "I'd bet my metal tail on it.  We need to get him out of the hotel first, or else he might see us getting prepared for the onslaught."

"Leave that to me," said Dark, who turned and ran back down the hall.  "I'll get that mutt outta here!!!" he shouted.  Then he muttered under his breath, "As soon as I figure out how."

Back in Rex's room, the shower stopped.  Cindy's voice exclaimed, "Rex, are you coming in?"

Rex sighed.  Plan Courage's demise or get in the shower with Cindy?  Rex tried for a minute to answer this very tough question before finally saying, "Sorry, Cindy, but I got some business to do before breakfast.  I promise I'll get in after I spill some OJ onto your lap at breakfast, okay?"

"Okay," said Cindy.  "Don't be gone too long!"

"I won't!" called out Rex before he walked out into the hall and closed the door behind him.  "This had better be worth it," he muttered.

Not far away, Dark Sonic pounded on Card Trick's door.  

"Hey!  Rabbit!  Come on!  It's time!!" shouted Dark.

Card Trick lazily opened the door.  The rabbit yawned and rubbed his eyes before saying, "Time for what?"

"Time for what you've been waiting for, my furry friend."

"You mean…?"

"Yep," Dark Sonic grinned.  "The fun's about to begin."

The rabbit's eyes grew wide and he smiled eagerly.  "Awesome.  W-What do I do?"

"Meet me downstairs in the casino as soon as you can," said Dark Sonic.  "I'll tell you exactly what to do then."

Card Trick nodded his head and shut the door so he could change.  Dark Sonic walked off, feeling more positive than he had felt in a long time.  Finally, after all this time he would finally enact his revenge by killing (actually, have _Rex_ killing, he reminded himself) that cowardly pink dog that always seemed to get in his way.

Suddenly, Dark Sonic realized a kink in his plan.  After dashing down to the lobby, Dark glared at Chris Gammon, who was resting his head on the front desk.

"That big wussy might be lazy, but even he might get suspicious if he sees us setting up for Courage's demise," said Dark to himself.  "I need to get him out of the picture.  I can just maul him on the spot, but I don't want to take the time to find someplace to put the body."

After a few moments, Dark Sonic had an idea.  Silently, Dark tiptoed behind Chris and grabbed a pink piece of paper from a pad.  Then, he went off into another room and found a pen to write with.

"Nothing like a little pink slip to get a 'hard-working' worker out on the streets."  Dark Sonic smiled.  "Eat your heart out, Donald Trump."  He talked out loud as he wrote:  "Dear Christopher Gammon…I regret to inform you that…"

A couple minutes later, across the street at the Luxor Hotel, Jonathan carried three hot lattes to Darkest Moon and Gareth Barsby, who were both sitting in a corner of the Luxor's lobby.  There wasn't much activity in the lobby at that moment, just one or two people milling around.  

"Uuhhh," moaned Jonathan as he set the lattes onto the endtable.  He looked at the tired faces of D.M. and Gareth.  "You guys get any sleep last night?"

"Maybe an hour or two," said Gareth, who grabbed one of the lattes and took a lazy sip.

D.M. grabbed the other cup and nodded her head.  "Yeah, a few."

"Lucky you," said Jonathan.  "After that conversation with Chris last night, I couldn't sleep at all."  

"Yeah…poor guy," said Gareth.

"Hey, sympathy is the last thing I need," yawned Jonathan.

"I was referring to Rex," said Gareth, taking another sip of his latte.

"Oh," said Jonathan.  "Geez, it's too bad we can't go over to the Wild Kard and help him out."

"How?" asked D.M.  "And what good would that do?"

"I dunno, okay?" grumbled Jonathan.  He sighed.  "Sorry.  You're right.  Maybe the best thing is to just leave that guy alone.  Besides…that Wild Kard place still gives me the creeps…even in the morning."

Jonathan got up, latte in hand, and walked over to the front doors of the Luxor Hotel to get a better look at the Wild Kard across the street.  He had just reached the doors when suddenly they flew open, nearly hitting Jonathan in the face!  Gareth and Darkest Moon immediately got up from their seats and ran over to see what was going on.  Jonathan stepped back to see who opened the doors.  Currently storming into the lobby was a red-faced Chris Gammon with a slip of paper in his right hand.  

Jonathan, D.M., and Gareth all tried to greet Chris, but he was furiously muttering things like, "I can't freakin' believe it!" over and over again.

After a while, Jonathan looked Chris in the eye and asked what was going on.

"What's going on?" asked Jonathan.

"What's going on??!!" repeated Chris.  He shoved the pink slip in Jonathan's face and said, "Look at this!"

Jonathan took the paper and glanced it.  "Dear Chris etc…I regret to inform you…services are no longer necessary…yadda yadda yadda…you've been a big help…not?!!"

"Can you believe it??!!" shouted Chris.

"Calm down," said D.M.  "You just got laid off."

"I call it firing," said Chris angrily.

"Same thing," said Jonathan.  "Look, it's no big deal.  You didn't even like that job anyway!"

"I know," admitted Chris.  "It's just the principle of the thing, y'know?"

"Well…maybe you could work over here now!" said Gareth.

"Yeah, I guess," said Chris unhappily.

"What's wrong?" asked D.M.

"It's just that," said Chris.  "I probably won't be taking as many naps here as I used to at the Wild Kard."

Gareth and D.M. smiled.  "Yeah," said D.M.  "That's 'cause this place is an actual _hotel._"

"Yeah," agreed Gareth, "not some 24-hour snooze-fest freak show, right, Jonathan?"

But Jonathan wasn't paying attention to the conversation.  He was staring wide-eyed at Chris's pink slip.  "Chris?" he asked.  "Is your boss the one who signed this slip?"

"Yeah, why?" asked Chris.

"Look at the signature, guys," Jonathan said to Gareth and D.M.  Both of them came over and gasped at the signature: Armadillo Rex (although, as was previously mentioned in this chapter, Dark Sonic was actually the one who wrote the pink slip.  He also forged Rex's signature.)

Jonathan looked at Chris.  "You never told us the armadillo guy in the video was your boss!"

"I didn't think it was relevant at the time!" said Chris.  "It was almost midnight, and it must've slipped my mind!" __

"Never mind," said Jonathan.  "Okay, so let's think this through…Armadillo Rex, the guy who poured his guts out to us over the phone thanks to Chris, is actually Chris's boss."

"Which means," continued Gareth, "that Rex owns the Wild Kard Hotel and is probably living there as well."

"Uh oh," said D.M.  A look of horror crossed her face.  "Our buddy Kevin is still over there!  And so is Courage and Sandy and Tortured Artist!"

"Not anymore," said a voice from behind.  The four former agents turned and saw Tortured Artist walking through the front doors of the Luxor with three bags of luggage.  

"Hey, Chris A.," said Jonathan.  "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" asked T.A.  "Last night at dinner I told you guys I'd be leaving the Wild Kard and heading over here in the morning."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Jonathan.

"So, are you guys talking about Kevin and the dogs?" asked T.A.

Before anybody could say anything, several people ran through the lobby towards the cafeteria.  It sounded like something big was going on in the cafeteria at that moment.

"What's going on?" asked Tortured Artist.

"I dunno, but let's find out," answered Jonathan.  Then, he, Chris, Gareth, Darkest Moon, and Tortured Artist ran across the lobby and into the cafeteria.  When they arrived, they saw a group of about ten people standing around a large television in the lounge area.  Jonathan and the group walked over to the back of one of the two couches and stared at the screen in amazement.

It was a local news channel showing live footage of a building that looked like it had been bombed.  All the windows were smashed and debris was scattered all over the street in front of it.  Police cars and other emergency vehicles were parked all around the area and yellow police tape surrounded the locale.  Since the sun hadn't quite risen yet, strobe lights and vehicle headlights illuminated the scene.  A large banner of come kind was lying in the road, but it was impossible to read anything on it.  Rescue crews were swarming the building, which was still standing somehow.  The scene then changed to an aerial view from a helicopter flying overhead.  Everyone was alarmed to see the entire rear of the building had been obliterated and large holes of some kind were embedded in the ground behind it.  

The most startling thing of all was that the building was an art museum located right there in Vegas…only several miles away from the Luxor on the Strip!  The headline read "Vegas Art Museum Bombed" while the ticker tape on the bottom of the screen announced closed roads and detours.  At the same time, the reporter was chattering nonstop about the crisis:

"At approximately 6:10 AM this morning, an explosion ripped through the newly renovated Nommag Gallery in northern Las Vegas.  Seven people have been injured, mostly in neighboring buildings, but there are no reports of any fatalities.  The amount of damage has temporarily closed the nearby portion of the Strip and several nearby roads.  Authorities are unclear as to the cause of the blast as well as the person or persons responsible.  There is no evidence thus far of a terrorist plot, but that possibility has not been ruled out.  I have never seen a bombing at an art museum this severe since the 1993 Uffizi bombing in Florence, Italy.  That bombing was classified as a "Baedeker bombing" or a bombing against tourists, but it is unknown if that is why the Nommag was bombed.  Numerous works of art, including a new exhibit on art inspired by the underworld, have tragically been destroyed in the blast.  Witness accounts vary, but each says that there was no indication of anyone attempting to bomb the museum.  There were no vehicles parked in front or behind the building, but one witness says he saw at least one person enter the building moments before the building exploded.  Several witnesses are even claiming that there may be a connection between this bombing and the mysterious lights that were spotted yesterday at the Stratosphere Hotel and the Las Vegas Wet n' Wild water park, but a connection, if any, remains to be seen."

Immediately, Jonathan reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Chris looked at him.  "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Kevin.  He has to see this," answered Jonathan.  "Quick, what's the number for Kevin's room?"

Chris thought hard for a moment and recited the number.  Jonathan heard the phone on the other end ring for a minute before an unfamiliar female voice answered, "Hello?"

"Uh, good morning," said Jonathan.  "Is Kevin there?"

"No, this is Cindy.  Can I help you?"

Realizing with a shock that he was talking to Rex's therapist, Jonathan quickly said, "Sorrywrongnumber," and hung up.

"Or was it two-five-o-_one_?" said Chris with a grin.  Jonathan was not amused.  As he dialed the right number, he glanced at his watch.  It was 6:35 AM…ten minutes until sunrise.

When Kevin heard the hotel room phone ring, he wasn't amused either.  First the weird 5 AM tourist who wanted Misty to tour the hotel…now this.  Kevin clumsily stretched out his arm and picked up the phone as Courage and Sandy slowly began to wake up in the other bed.  

"Mmm…h'lo?"  muttered Kevin.

"Kevin?  It's Jonathan from across the street!  Listen, something really major has come up and I need to talk to right now!  It's really important.  Meet me in the Luxor cafeteria in five minutes.  It's urgent!"  He then hung up.

Kevin put the phone back on the receiver.  He got up and shoved Sandy and Courage awake.  "C'mon, you two, we got to get to the Luxor in five minutes!  Let's move it!"

"What for?" asked Sandy.  Courage rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Agent R…I mean, Jonathan wants to talk to us now!  I dunno why, but he says it's important, so let's go."

"Wait," said Courage, looking around.  "Where's Misty?"

"She's downstairs giving a tour to a new tourist.  Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine.  She can take care of herself.  Now, c'mon, let's get ready!"

Courage wanted to know where Misty was exactly, but Kevin sounded serious, so he and Sandy got out of bed and headed for the door to wait for Kevin to get dressed.

Downstairs in the casino, Dark Sonic was almost done telling Card Trick his part of the plan.

"So, let's go over this one more time," said Dark Sonic to the rabbit.  "You're going to be playing a little real-life role-playing game.  You'll take this-…"

"You mean like Zelda or Final Fantasy?" asked Card Trick eagerly.

"…Yeah, whatever…now shut up and listen…your character is going to be that animatronic over there."

Dark Sonic pointed over to the Suicide King, which was (as mentioned in chapter 7) a large robot of the colorful King of Hearts that stood against the far wall.  Card Trick had always thought it was a giant decoration until Dark Sonic revealed that it was actually a fully functional robot, complete with the large sword that appeared to be going through its head, but was actually behind its head.

Dark Sonic gave Card Trick a large controller.  "You'll be controlling your character with this.  It's just like an Xbox controller, only with two extra buttons for robotic laughing and growling action.  Now here's the deal…in a few minutes, a large group of people and dogs are gonna be coming into the casino.  Once they appear, turn off all the lights with the Start button.  Then speak into the headset microphone and say some cool stuff before you activate the robot and you battle your enemies."

"Sweet," said Card Trick.  "Of course, that sword isn't actually going to hurt them, right?"

"Uh………yeah.  Right.  But that's not all!" said Dark Sonic.  "Don't forget, when you start battling, to press the 'X' button and-…"

"Like this?" asked Card Trick.  He pressed the button and was amazed when an entire wall of the casino lifted up into the ceiling with a loud grinding noise.  Suddenly, an incredibly large form slowly made it's way into the casino.  Card Trick's mouth hung open as he watched in astonishment as an enormous roulette wheel inched its way into the center of the casino!  The wheel was about ten times larger than the real thing.  And to top it all off, a guy and five dogs were bound and gagged to the giant wheel!  Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew were each spread out equally on a separate wheel color with their wrists and ankles tied to the tops and bottoms of the wheel respectively.  Joe and the Krew struggled to free themselves as they tried to cry for help through their fabric gags.  

"Wow…" said Card Trick, bewildered at the sight.  "I'm impressed!  Heh heh…look at that animatronic guy and those dogs.  They look so real!"

"Heh heh…yeah," said Dark Sonic, forcing a grin on his smug face.  He took the controller out of CT's hand has he said through gritted teeth, "Ain't technology grand?"  Dark pressed a button that made the wheel slink back into the other room before the wall came back down.     

"Now remember," said Dark Sonic.  "Once the wheel's all the way out, press the 'Y' button to send it spinning, then press 'A' to release the metal ball."

"Why?" asked Card Trick.

"Think of it as an obstacle while the fighting goes on," said Dark Sonic.  "So, you know what you're gonna do?"

Taking a deep breath, Card Trick said rapidly, "I wait for the people and dogs to come into the room, then I press the Start button to turn off all the lights, then I say something cool to them, then I activate the robot, then I press the X-Y-A buttons for the wheel as I keep fighting with the robot."

"Good memory," said Dark.  "Very good.  Hope you have fun."  Dark turned to leave.

"Hey wait!" said CT.  "What if it looks like I'm losing?"

"Lock the door!" answered Dark, quoting 'Star Wars'.  "And hope they don't have blasters."

"That's not very reassuring," said CT.

"OK, then, just get the hell out of there then!" yelled Dark before he exited the casino.

Dark didn't even take five steps before he suddenly caught sight of Kevin, Courage, and Sandy coming out of an elevator.  Ducking behind a corner, Dark Sonic watched with glee as Kevin and the dogs ran out the front doors of the Wild Kard Hotel.  

Merrily, Dark dashed behind the front desk and tuned it to Rex's frequency.  "The chickens have flown the coop!" shouted Dark.  "I repeat…the indigestion has been defecated!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" shouted Rex back.

"Um…Kevin and the dogs have ran out of the hotel, Rex," said Dark.

"…Excellent," said Rex.  "Attention all units…initiate the preparations immediately!"

A couple minutes later, Kevin, Courage, and Sandy ran into the Luxor Hotel's cafeteria.  They spotted the former agents and were surprised to see Tortured Artist there too.

"You're 90 seconds late," said Jonathan sarcastically.

"Yeah, I had these things called 'clothes' that I had to put on and…" began Kevin with equal sarcasm, but he caught sight of the TV and gravely said, "What happened?"

It didn't take long for Kevin, Sandy, and Courage to figure out what happened.  

"A bomb?" asked Kevin.  "But how?"

"I don't know," said D.M.  "But they're thinking it might be related to those weird lights that were seen over the Stratosphere and Wet n' Wild yesterday."

Tortured Artist and Kevin both stared at D.M.  Tortured Artist had been at the Wet 'n Wild park, and Kevin knew Courage had been battling Dark Sonic on the Stratosphere.

Could it be?

"Who could've done it?" asked Kevin shakily…although he was afraid he already knew the answer.

"I dunno," said Gareth.  "The reporter said some black dude was seen in the area."

"Black?" asked Kevin.  "You mean black as in African-American or black as in 'black'?"   

"I'm betting it's the latter," said Sandy.  

Before Courage could ask what she meant, Tortured Artist suddenly leaped up into the air with a holler and landed on the couch.

"Oh yeah," said Jonathan,  "I almost forgot those two could talk."  He turned to the bewildered Tortured Artist and said, "Calm down, man…talking dogs are no big deal."

"Well," said Kevin, as he helped up Tortured Artist, "they haven't said much while-…"

"LOOK!  IT'S HIM!" shouted Courage suddenly, pointing at the TV.

Everyone's attention snapped to the TV, even nearby onlookers, who didn't even know Courage was the one who yelled.

On the screen, a man with a shaven head (the same one who talked to Misty in the previous chapter) was showing a sketch he had made in a notebook.  It showed a dark black head wearing a large black coat and sunglasses.  It also had large black spikes curving down from the back of his head.  Most obvious of all was a very wide, spiky, and familiar grin.

"I saw this guy talking to a dog before he went inside," said the man on TV.  "It was weird…it looked like he was shrinking as he got closer to the museum…and after the explosion, this big stoned thing rose up in its place and started attacking everybody and…"

"And speaking of stoned, that'll be all, sir," said the reporter.  "Back to you, Linda."

"Thank you, Tom," said the anchorman.  "No doubt, serious speculation will arise about this mysterious figure, especially since a similar figure was supposedly spotted at the Stratosphere and Wet 'n Wild yesterday.  Again, there is no proof to these speculations, but if you have any information regarding this tragedy, call the sheriff's office or 911 immediately."

Kevin immediately recognized who the figure was and gasped.  That figure looked exactly like the man that had arrived at his door earlier that morning and asked Misty for a tour of the sights.  Kevin felt incredibly ill and leaned against the sofa for support.

"Anybody know who that guy is?" asked Jonathan.  D.M. and Barsby didn't have a clue.

Courage began to shake slightly.  He knew all too well who that guy was.

"Hey!" said Sandy.  She turned to Kevin and said shakily, "Kevin, remember when that rabbit gave us that tour when we first came to the Wild Kard?  Remember that tall guy with the black outfit and the red shades who worked behind the bar and in the ballroom?"

"Yeah, I saw him a couple times when I stayed there," said Tortured Artist.

"Me too," said Chris.  "All the time…hey, you don't think…"

"Hey," said Jonathan, "If I think you're thinking what I think you're thinking…"

"…Then stop thinking," joked Darkest Moon.

"This isn't funny, guys!" said Tortured Artist.  "I think that guy might've bombed the place!"

"He didn't just bomb the place for no reason," said Courage.  "And that's not just some weird guy."

Everyone stopped and stared at Courage.

"Who is he then?" asked Jonathan.

"That was Dark Sonic," muttered Courage.  "And I'm sure he had a very good reason for doing what he did."

"Who's Dark Sonic?" asked Tortured Artist.

Courage groaned.  He didn't want to have to tell another person about him.

"But wait, wait," said Sandy as she put her paw on Courage's shoulder.  "If Dark Sonic has been in the Wild Kard this whole time, then…"

"Rex has too," whispered Courage.

Suddenly, everything finally fell into place.  He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out before.  The way the hotel seemed to appear overnight.  The fact that they and Tortured Artist were the only ones staying in the hotel.  And of course, all those subtle signs around the hotel…the name 'REX' appearing on the slot machine, the familiar images stenciled on the ceiling fan over the pool, the giant R in the center of the ballroom floor, the letters 'REX' on the three extra cards in Card Trick's hand…and of course, the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach ever since he laid eyes on the place.  When Courage saw Rex's TV transmission coming from the Stratosphere, he had thought Rex had been staying at the Stratosphere, but then he remembered what Chris had said once the transmission ended: "Man, my boss is ugly!"  He also remembered Chris explaining that he had never seen his boss before until that moment.  That proved that Rex was not only staying at the Wild Kard Hotel, but he owned it too.  Now that he knew Dark Sonic had been staying in the same building, he knew Rex had been right under his nose the entire time as well.

Jonathan whispered into Chris's ear, "Hey, didn't Rex talk about Dark Sonic last night?"

"Yeah," whispered Chris back.  "I wonder why Dark Sonic is doing all of this?"

"Beats me," answered Jonathan.

"I don't believe this!" cried Kevin suddenly.  "Everywhere we go he's there!  Rex has been here the whole time!  We've got to do something!"

"But what?" asked Sandy.  She rubbed her forehead with her paw.  "I'm so sick of this."

"So am I," said Courage coldly.  Without another word, Courage turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.  

"Courage, where are you going?" asked Sandy.  She quickly followed Courage.  Behind her followed Kevin, Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, and Darkest Moon.

"Hey!" shouted Tortured Artist.  "What are you all talking about?!  And wait for me!"

"Courage, wait!" called out Sandy as Courage stormed out of the hotel through the front doors.  When she caught up to him, she said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this," said Courage.  "If Rex and Dark Sonic are here, they've obviously come for me.  I'm not gonna keep wandering around and wondering what's going on, so I'm going back to the Wild Kard and find them."

"But Courage," said Sandy, "What's going to happen when you meet them?"

Courage looked at Sandy and said, "What going to happen to us and this city if we don't?!" 

Sandy stopped as Courage continued towards the street.  Kevin came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.  "Sandy, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" asked Sandy as they started walking again.

"I saw Dark Sonic earlier this morning," admitted Kevin.

"What?!!  When??"

"At around 5 AM.  He was in that disguise when he came to our door and asked Misty for a tour of the hotel."

"And you let her go with him?!!!"

"I didn't know it was him, I swear!" argued Kevin.  "She should still be in the hotel now…unless I told them to take a tour of the Strip instead.  Oh god, what am I gonna do?"

"Well, we can't tell Courage right now," said Sandy.  "He's already in a bad mood, and this will only make him feel worse.  Besides, if there's anyone who can take care of herself in the presence of Dark Sonic, it's Misty."

Kevin nodded, but he didn't feel any better. 

As the group crossed the first half of the street, Tortured Artist kept asking what was going on, but the former agents (who were still trying to put things together themselves) wouldn't say much of anything.

By the time Courage reached the median, he felt extremely irritated and was ready to storm into the Wild Kard when he suddenly stopped and leaned against a palm tree in the center of the median.  He looked up at the sky to the east.  He looked at the building next to the Wild Kard, which was some type of a warehouse.  Next to it was a vacant lot, and beyond it laid a short stretch of the horizon line.  Courage watched as the sun rose above the short length of horizon.  For some reason, the sight of the sunrise only worried him more.  As he continued to watch it, everyone else came up behind him, one by one, and stared at the sunrise.  The sun was a large orange-red orb that had just finished completely emerging from the horizon line.  The surrounding sky was bathed in reds, oranges, and yellows that faded to dark blue to the west.  High-elevation cirrus clouds sat directly above in the sky as if they were painted on.  The entire scene was very similar to the sunrises over Nowhere, albeit the Vegas skyline and lights.

"Courage?" asked Sandy quietly.  "Why are we stopping?"

Courage sighed as he continued staring at the sunrise.  "I just…got this feeling…"

Sandy stared at the sunrise as well.  "What kind of…?"

"The kind that says that this sunrise is…well…I don't know if I'm ever gonna see a sunrise like this again…"

Sandy sighed with frustration.  "Now stop that, Courage.  I don't want to hear this kind of talk coming from you."

"But I…"

"Look," said Sandy as she looked at Courage intently, "you've come this far already.  Whatever big plan is going on between Dark Sonic and Rex, we have to find out what it is and stop it before it's too late.  The whole city of Vegas could depend on us, for all we know."

Courage nodded.  He gulped as he knew he had to figure out why Dark Sonic and Rex were in Vegas…and as much as he didn't want to do it, the only way to ask was to confront them.

"C'mon," he said, and kept walking towards the Wild Kard.  Kevin and Sandy followed close behind.  Behind them walked the former agents.  Bringing up the rear was Tortured Artist, who had given up asking about what was going on and decided to wait until a better time.

Chris whispered to Jonathan, "You think we should tell Kevin that we know about Rex and Dark Sonic?"

"Not right now," advised Jonathan to Chris, D.M., and Gareth.  "It's best if we wait until things cool down a bit before we tell them."

"How about during breakfast?" asked D.M.

"Fine," said Jonathan.  "Now, c'mon, we're losing them."  Jonathan and the former agents picked up the pace.  Tortured Artist, overhearing, didn't know what they were talking about, but wisely kept his mouth shut as they drew nearer to the Wild Kard.

At that moment, however, looking through a pair of binoculars through the front doors of the Wild Kard Hotel, was Dark Sonic.  He grinned as he caught sight of Courage and everybody else leaving the medium and running across the second half of the street.  Dark put away the binoculars and took out his walkie-talkie.

"Hey, Rex," Dark said into the walkie-talkie, "Where are you?"

"I'm here in the ballroom, crap-for-brains," said Rex annoyingly. 

"Great," said Dark Sonic, "because Courage and his little 'posse' are just about to make their big entrance."

"Perfect," said Rex.  "At long last, Courage, my enemy who doesn't have the brains to call it quits, will finally be vanquished from my accursed life.  Oh, I've dreamed of this moment since-…"

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the details, please," griped Dark Sonic.  "Just stay in position, while I alert everybody else."

"Roger," said Rex.

Dark Sonic changed the frequency and shouted, "Hey, Jester!  Phanto!  You guys all set?"

The two henchmen muttered their agreements.

"Great.  Don't move until the just right moment, and don't worry…you'll know when to do so."  Dark Sonic changed the frequency one last time.  "Hey, Card Trick, you all set?"

"Roger that, spiky guy!" said the rabbit.

Dark rolled his eyes.  "You remember exactly what to do?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't worry.  Everything's under control."

"Excellent," said Dark, "because if you do this successfully and win, I'll personally promote you to head desk clerk!"

"SWEET!!" shouted Card Trick, making Dark wince.  "But what happened to Chris?"

"Ummm…" fumbled Dark, "he had a…brain operation to go to.  Nothing serious.  Now, be quiet and wait for your cue, okay?!"

"OK, sure…I mean, roger."

Dark finally turned off the walkie-talkie and ran down the hall.  He didn't stop until he was once again in front of the 'Employees Only' door.  Dark unlocked the door and turned the knob.  He threw open the door and stood in the doorway as he stared eagerly at the metallic form that stopped and stared back at Dark with an odd, curious look.  The mechanical growl coming from the figure grew in intensity, drowning out other metal sounds on its body.  

"Come, my friend," said Dark Sonic.  "It's time." 


	23. Casino Rumble

"Casino Rumble"

KA-CHUNK...creeeeak…

The front doors of the Wild Kard Hotel slowly swung open. Feeling as if he was moving in slow motion, Kevin Henderson stepped into the hotel lobby. As he continued into the vacant room, he noticed the wall of TVs was turned off, and no one was at the front desk.

Right behind him, Courage followed Kevin into the lobby. A mix of emotions flew through his mind. He was angry for allowing himself to succumb to Armadillo Rex's manipulations, curious as to where Rex currently was, and very scared of what would happen once he encountered Rex. But all those other emotions were blanketed by a really strong feeling of determination. Courage was determined to find Rex and, possibly, find some way to stop him.

Behind Courage followed Sandy. She was worried for both Courage and Kevin's safety. All three of them had dealt with Rex before. Sandy knew that Rex could do whatever it took to get what he wanted. However, Courage and Kevin's stubborn fortitude was equally as strong as Rex's. Sandy secretly hoped that Rex wasn't in the hotel at all, but she had a strange feeling that he was. A whine got stuck in her throat as she also began to feel concerned for everyone else's safety.

Everyone else, by the way, began to enter the hotel. Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, Darkest Moon, and Tortured Artist walked into the lobby one by one. Except for Tortured Artist, none of them had ever seen the inside of the hotel before. The four former agents looked around and were shocked at how fancy the interior looked for a building that had sprung up overnight!

Once everyone stopped at the front desk, Jonathan said, "So, anybody know where Rex could be?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders as everyone looked around. To the left stretched one hallway that led to the casino. To the right, another hallway led to the ballroom. A door nearby led to the pool, and several other doors led to unknown locations.

"Looks like we'll have to split up," said Gareth.

"Yeah," agreed Kevin. He looked around and muttered, "Too bad this hotel doesn't have a map."

As everyone tried to figure out how to split up, Courage happened to glance down the hallway to the right…the one that led to the ballroom. He caught sight of the doors to the ballroom and noticed that one of them was slightly ajar. Instantly, a dark sense of foreboding dread washed over Courage. His sixth sense was going haywire, and a chill went down his spine. That could only mean one thing…

Courage spun around and tugged on Kevin's pant leg. Kevin looked down and saw Courage motioning to him. Kevin bent down and Courage whispered something in his ear. Sandy watched nearby and wondered what Courage saying.

Kevin gave Courage an odd look before he stood up and said, "Hey, guys!" to get everybody's attention. "Since there's more of the hotel on the left, why don't we all go searching over there?" Kevin pointed to the left towards the casino to emphasize his point.

Jonathan scratched his head. "But Kevin, wouldn't it make more sense of we split up in both directions?"

Kevin shook his head. "That'll just give Rex a better advantage. If we all stick together, we'll even the odds."

"It's worth a shot," said D.M.

"Sure," said Chris. "What have we got to lose?"

The words 'Our lives' leaped to the minds of some of them, but nobody dared to say it out loud.

So, with Kevin in the lead, everybody turned and started heading towards the casino…everybody, that is, except Courage. Courage simply stayed where he was and watched everyone walk off; their minds focused on the room at the end of the hall. Without a word, Courage immediately turned around, looked over his shoulder, and walked slowly toward the ballroom doors.

Sandy, who was walking behind everyone else, happened to glance over her shoulder. She gasped and screeched to a halt when she saw Courage walking in the opposite direction! Sandy looked back and forth, frantically trying to decide which direction to go. Finally, she bolted away from her group and ran to catch up with Courage and ask him where he was going.

It didn't take very long for Kevin, Tortured Artist, and the former agents to reach the doors to the casino. When they arrived at the doors, Kevin stopped and stared at the others.

"I have to warn you guys," said Kevin seriously. "This Rex guy is extremely dangerous. You don't have to come in with me."

"Are you crazy?!" said D.M.

"Yeah, Kev," said Jonathan. "Trust me, you're gonna need all the help you can get." Chris and Gareth nodded in agreement.

Kevin turned to Tortured Artist. "What about you?"

Tortured Artist glanced at everyone staring at him and cleared his throat. "I still don't really know what the heck is going on here, but whatever this is, I'd hate to be left out of it. Besides, I'm starting to like hanging out with you guys."

"I'm flattered," said Kevin with a slight smirk on his face. Then he turned around and grabbed a hold of the doorknobs. "Time to face the music," he said before he swung open the doors.

When Kevin said, "Time to face the music," he wasn't kidding. Once the doors opened, everyone immediately detected annoying elevator music blaring from speakers in the ceiling. Everyone's eyes widened as the Wild Kard Casino spread out before them. Kevin immediately noticed that the entire room had changed since he last visited. All the white lights in the ceiling were turned off. The only lights came from the myriad of neon and fluorescent lights along the walls, as well as from the electronic slot machines. More noticeably, Kevin saw that the slot machines, blackjack tables, roulette wheels, and all other casino items were pushed against the walls, leaving a large space in the center of the colossal room. In the middle of this space were lights embedded into a square of transparent floor. It looked like a dance floor you'd find at a nightclub. The floor lights were turned off, so nobody noticed the floor at first. Finally, against the far wall, was the large statue of the King of Hearts…only now, with the new lighting, the statue looked far more menacing than before.

The casino looked deserted. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed. Only the sappy music could be heard, echoing throughout the room.

"C'mon," motioned Kevin, quietly. He carefully stepped into the room. He was followed closely by Jonathan, then Chris, then Gareth, then D.M., and finally Tortured Artist…all in single-file, like Scooby Doo and the gang. Their eyes darted left and right, looking for any signs that Rex might be nearby.

"See anything?" Gareth asked Chris over the music.

"No," Chris responded. "What the heck are we searching for again?"

"Any sign that Rex has been here," answered Jonathan.

"Ssshh," hushed Kevin. He was one step away from reaching the dance floor, when he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"C'mon," whispered Card Trick, who was hiding behind the head of the Suicide King robot. "One more step…"

"Hey," called out Kevin suddenly. "Where'd Courage and Sandy go?!"

Everyone looked around, but the dogs were nowhere to be seen!

Before anyone could voice his or her opinions, however, Kevin stepped onto the dance floor.

At once, the elevator music was abruptly replaced with a loud record scratch that made everybody jump. A moment later, lively Olympics-style music erupted from the speakers. The dance floor lights sprung to life, and two white spotlights flew across the casino. As Kevin sprung back from the dance floor, he heard everybody behind him wonder what was going on.

"Ladieeeees!!!…aaand Gentlemaaaan!!!!" shouted a nasally voice suddenly from the speakers, drowning out the omnipresent music. "Or, more accurately…Gentlemennnn!!!…aaand Lady!!!!" D.M. made a face as the voice continued, "Boys and girls of all ages!!!"

"What the…?" thought everyone to themselves. What was this, a three-ring circus?

"Welcome to the…um…Casino Battlefield Extraordinaire!!!" continued the voice over the speakers. "Where you lucky dogs, and people, get to duke it out against the monster of mayhem himself. The one! The only…SUICIDE KING!!!! BWA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (COUGH-COUGH-Cough-cough)…ahem…"

D.M. couldn't help but giggle at the voice's coughing fit. Everyone else was slightly unimpressed by the performance.

"Who the hell _is_ this guy?" thought Kevin (and the others) to himself. "I know that isn't Rex…"

But then, just as Kevin suddenly realized who was speaking, the floor began to shake. Off in the distance, Kevin thought he heard an explosion in some other part of the hotel.

"Look!!" shouted Tortured Artist suddenly. Everyone turned and looked at where he was pointing.

All around the Suicide King statue, the wall was beginning to crack. Everyone watched in astonishment as the statue's legs began to grow! It didn't take long for the statue to stand up to its full height…almost touching the ceiling! Then, the statue began to move its sword (which appeared to go right through his own head) out of its head. Everyone heard the metallic 'schwing' sound when the sword was completely pulled out of the head. Then, the monstrous head, which was in profile, turned to face Kevin and the gang. They all stood aghast when they saw the front of the king's head. There was a large rectangular hole in the middle of his forehead where the sword had obviously been. And sitting on top of the king's crown, which was modified to look like a palace throne, was none other than Card Trick himself.

"I knew it," said Kevin. He stepped away from the group and onto the dance floor. Even from the ground Kevin could see the rabbit grinning down at him. Card Trick appeared to have a microphone headset and a videogame controller in his grubby paws.

"Hey, rabbit!!!" shouted Kevin up to Card Trick. CT turned down the music so he could hear. "What's the deal, here?!! What are you…?!"

"I'm so glad you asked!!!" interrupted Card Trick on the loudspeaker. "I was told there'd be people and dogs here, but just people will do, I suppose…"

"Did Rex put you up to this?!" shouted Jonathan, coming up from behind Kevin. "Do you know where he is?!"

"No!" answered CT. "I don't know where he is…and no, he didn't put me up to this, so if you don't mind, I would like to continue with what I was saying about…that…thing I was saying…"

By now, D.M., Gareth, Chris, and Tortured Artist had joined Jonathan and Kevin on the dance floor. They all looked at each other, trying to figure if they should take this guy seriously or not.

"Maybe we should search for Rex elsewhere," said Chris.

But CT's keen ears overheard that sentence. He reached over and pushed a button on the statue. The entrance doors to the casino slammed shut.

"Sorry, O former head clerk, buddy-ol-pal…but I'd like to explain this deal sometime this century!!!" Not even waiting for a response, CT continued. "Now, here's the deal…I've had a really boring time here at this hotel, so I've decided to partake you all in a little…hotel activity game. The rules are simple…battle against me and this super-duper robot in close-range combat, and you'll win what's behind door number one!!!"

With that, Card Trick reached down at his Xbox controller and, just as Dark Sonic told him too, pressed the 'X' button.

"Look!" said Chris, as he pointed to the wall on the left. Kevin and the others turned around. Just like before, the wall lifted up into the ceiling, and a large form moved slowly into the casino. A large spotlight suddenly shined down onto the form. No one was more surprised than Kevin when he saw the form turning out to be Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew strapped to a gigantic roulette wheel! Joe and his band-dogs wriggled and squirmed as they tried to break from their ropes and yell through their handkerchief gags.

"Who the heck are they?" asked Gareth.

"My god! That's Joe and the Krew!" shouted Kevin.

"We gotta get them outta there!" shouted Tortured Artist.

"Didn't they perform here last-…" began Chris, but was interrupted.

"OK, contestants!" shouted Card Trick. "Here's the physical challenge: defeat me and save your friends from the giant roulette wheel! Let's get IT ON!!!!!"

Before Kevin and the others could protest, the Suicide King suddenly crouched down at a shockingly fast speed (fortunately, Card Trick had his seat belt on.) Then, the robot leaped up, right through the ceiling with a CRASH! Shrapnel rained down onto the floor where the robot once stood.

It took only a split second for Kevin to calculate where the robot was going to land. Once he did, he screamed, "Everybody scatter! Go!" before he leaped off the dance floor. Everybody else followed suit and leaped off the floor in different directions, and not a moment too soon. The Suicide King, crashed down through the ceiling and landed hard on the dance floor, sending glass shards flying.

Kevin and D.M. ducked behind a row of fallen slot machines, barely missing the tiny glass projectiles. Tortured Artist leaped behind some fallen blackjack tables near the far wall, but not without getting his lower legs scratched by the glass. Gareth and Jonathan slid under a lounge table in the corner and propped it up to avoid any oncoming debris. Chris ran behind a lone blackjack table located near the giant roulette wheel.

When everyone turned around and looked back at the crazed robot, they noticed something was different. Before he crashed down through the ceiling, Card Trick had pressed a button on the robot labeled 'Japanimate'. The robot's arms and legs grew out slightly and shifted as its joints became visible. The head and torso were readjusted as well. Now the Suicide King robot looked more like a Transformers action figure with a really big sword!

With CT working the controls, the Suicide King suddenly swung the sword, missing Kevin's head by several feet. He and D.M. ran in opposite directions, yelling things like, "The rabbit's gone mad!" and "Keep moving! Moving targets are harder to hit!"

Chris looked around and noticed that he was closest to the wheel where Joe and the Krew were tied up. Waiting until the robot wasn't looking in his direction, Chris ran over to the wheel and came across Joe, still struggling to get free. Chris reached over and untied the gag around Joe's mouth.

Naturally, Joe's first words to Chris were, "Get me the hell outta here!!!!"

"Fine, fine," muttered Chris. He rushed over to where Joe's right wrist was bound with a rope to a rod sticking out of the wheel. Chris was just about to grab onto the rope, when he heard somebody scream. He looked up and saw the Suicide King pick up a slot machine that D.M. was hiding behind. D.M. screamed and ran off towards the blackjack tables where Tortured Artist was hiding.

Just then, the Suicide King turned sharply and looked directly at Chris!

"Heads up!" shouted Card Trick. Then, to Chris's shock, the robot pulled back and tossed the slot machine in Chris's direction.

Fortunately, Card Trick pushed on one of the controller's knobs too hard, causing the slot machine to go flying over Chris's head and smash on the far wall. Nevertheless, Chris was so shocked that he leaped away from Joe and rolled over to the opposite side of the wheel.

"Hey, come back!" yelled Joe, "You haven't even untied me yet!"

Before Chris could catch his breath, somebody yelled in his ear, "Hey! Get me outta here!"

Chris rolled over and found himself face to face with the milky-white eyes of Psycho. He had chewed through his cloth gag in order to speak. His paws, front and back, were bound to the wheel as well.

Chris looked to his left and saw Gina and Humphrey tied to the wheel. To the right, RX and Daisy were also tied up just like Joe. All four of them were still gagged, and they still wriggled and twisted to get free.

"Are you gonna look around all day, or are you gonna get me outta here??!!" shouted Psycho. "My tail's starting to ache!"

"Sorry, mutt," answered Chris. He stumbled over and struggled to untie the irate canine.

Not far away, Jonathan, D.M., and Tortured Artist reunited behind a column of chairs and tables.

"Where's Kevin and Gareth?" asked D.M. frantically.

Jonathan peeked around the tables and was surprised to see Gareth hitting the heel of the robot repeatedly with a long metal pole from somewhere. Kevin, for some reason, was actually hanging onto the robot's left knee for dear life. The robot was going around and around trying to get both of them while Card Trick kept saying to Gareth, "Cut it out, man," and "You call that a dent?"

"Those guys got guts," said Tortured Artist.

"Hey, listen," said Jonathan, pulling D.M. and Tortured Artist close. "Now that the robot's distracted, we need to come up with a plan."

Tortured Artist glared at Jonathan. "You got any ideas?"

Jonathan shook his head. "There's not much we could use, except coins from the slot machines or poker chips, and what good would they do?"

"We could stuff them into the robot and short-circuit it!" shouted D.M.

As a response, the Suicide King kicked Kevin into the air. He landed right next D.M.

"It's worth a shot," said Jonathan. He noticed some chips lying on the ground and passed them to the others. "C'mon!"

"But what about the sword?" asked Tortured Artist.

Jonathan glanced at TA. "If he hasn't sliced Gareth to ribbons by now, it's unlikely he'll do the same for us. Now, c'mon!!"

Jonathan, D.M., and Tortured Artist raced out of their hiding spot just as the robot kicked Gareth over some nearby tables. They ran over to the feet of the robot and leaped onto its legs. Kevin got up and ran over, but stopped as the sword swooped over him. Kevin stepped back and ran off to recover.

"Whoa," said Card Trick as he looked over and down at the people crawling on his robot's legs. "What're they doing?"

It took about three seconds for Jonathan, D.M., and Tortured Artist to realize that there were no places on the robot to put poker chips into. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," Jonathan said aloud.

"You think you could've told us BEFOREHAND??!!" yelled Tortured Artist.

Card Trick, who was currently having more fun than he'd ever had in his whole life, looked down at his controller and pressed a little blue button on the side. Instantly, jets of steam erupted from the robot's legs, sending the three attackers flying in all directions. Luckily, they all landed safely and ran off.

Just then, Card Trick looked over at the roulette wheel and saw Chris trying to untie Psycho. At first, Card Trick wondered why Chris was untying an animatronic dog (Card Trick thinks Joe and the Krew are robots, remember), when he suddenly remembered what Dark Sonic told him to do. Card Trick looked down at the modified Xbox controller and pressed 'X'.

At once, the roulette wheel began to spin around slowly.

Psycho yelled, "Hurry up!" as Chris undid the last piece of rope. Once Psycho was free, he and Chris noticed the wheel was slowly picking up speed.

"Quick! Free the others!" Psycho told Chris, as he got up and headed towards Gina. Chris nodded and headed in the opposite direction as the wheel spun faster and faster.

"Oh no you don't," muttered Card Trick when he saw Chris struggling to keep his balance on the wheel. He reached over to his controller and pressed the 'Y' button.

On the wheel, Psycho walked by Gina and Humphrey. "Hang on, you two," said Psycho. "I'll be right back."

"Psycho, look!!!!" yelled Chris, who was standing near Rex and Daisy. He was pointing to the center of the wheel. Psycho turned and gasped.

The center of the wheel was at a higher elevation than the outer edge, making the whole wheel conical like a regular roulette wheel. Coming up from the center of the wheel was a 4-foot-wide, steel ball activated by the 'Y' button. Chris and Psycho both knew that once the ball fully emerged, nothing could stop it from rolling down the spinning wheel and rolling over somebody!

Psycho finally reached Joe, who said, "Quick, Psy, untie me!"

"Aw, but you look so comfortable, Joe," said Psy with a grin.

A bewildered look crossed Joe's face. "What??!! Get me out of here!!"

Psycho's grin vanished. "Not until you apologize and tell me I can talk to William again."

"What??! Are you crazy??!" answered Joe.

Meanwhile, Chris had gotten the gags off of RX's and Daisy's mouths. All three of them stared up at the metal ball, still rising incredibly slowly.

"That doesn't look so bad," said RX.

At that moment, Card Trick pressed the 'A' button. Immediately, dangerously huge metal spikes jutted out from the entire surface of the ball!

"Now it looks bad," said Chris. He, RX, Daisy, and Joe all screamed at the same time, along with Gina and Humphrey through their gags.

"Alright! Alright!" said Joe to Psycho. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You can talk to William again, now for the last time, GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!!"

"Thanks," said Psycho flatly. As he and Chris rushed to free the band, everyone not on the wheel noticed that the robot had stopped! Card Trick was staring in amazement at Joe and his bandmates. Until this moment, he had thought Joe and the Krew were animatronics. Dark Sonic even agreed with him that they were robots! How could he lie to him like that?

Card Trick thought for a moment and with lightning speed, he sliced a slot machine in two with his sword. Coins overflowed like water onto the carpet.

"Holy crap…this is a real sword!" thought Card Trick to himself. "Damn. I hate it when games turn out to be real. God, when I get my paws on that bastard Dark Sonic, I'll…"

Suddenly, his paw accidentally pushed another button on the controller. To everyone's surprise, a mechanized laugh erupted from the robot as it began dancing in place!

"AAACK!!" shouted Card Trick. "How the hell did _that_ button get there?!" He looked at his Xbox controller and froze. His sudden realization that this was no game made his mind go blank. He couldn't remember any of the controls! "Oh, this is great. Just great. Why did I have to be such a big fan of the Playstation 2?"

Jonathan, D.M., Gareth, and Tortured Artist were huddled in a corner of the casino as they watched the robot come to a complete stop.

"Quick! Now's our chance!" said Gareth.

"And do what?!" snapped Jonathan. "Everything we try doesn't work!"

"Chris!" shouted D.M.

Everyone looked at Chris. The wheel was now spinning fast enough for the centrifugal force to start affecting everyone on the wheel. Chris, Psycho, and the now freed Joe were clinging onto the wheel while at the same time trying to untie Daisy, Gina, and Humphrey respectively. The spiky ball was nearly ready to fall down the wheel.

"Oh no…Kevin!!!" shouted Tortured Artist suddenly. Jonathan, D.M., and Tortured Artist looked back to where TA was pointing.

On the opposite side of the room, Kevin had found the pole Gareth was using earlier and was running towards the Suicide King like a knight with a lance. However, Card Trick saw him too.

"I gotta tell him I'm sorry about all this," said Card Trick. Grasping the controller, Card Trick maneuvered the robot so that its metallic right hand quickly clamped around Kevin's waist and hoisted him up into the air!

D.M. gasped, as did TA, Gareth, and Jonathan. They watched helplessly as Kevin struggled to free himself.

None of them noticed the casino entrance doors burst open at that moment.

"Kevin!" yelled Card Trick, once Kevin was at his level. Card Trick brought his paws away from the controller and held them up defensively as he cried, "I'm so sorry about all this, dude!" Kevin looked at CT with a very confused look. "Look, Kev, I-…"  
Suddenly, a murderously high-pitched scream rang out from the casino entrance:

"KEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIINNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everybody, including Card Trick, the robot, and everyone on the roulette wheel, turned to the front of the casino.

There stood Misty with a look of pure panic on her canine face. She had traveled all the way from the art museum where Dark Sonic had confiscated the third Dark emerald. By bus and on foot, she had traveled for quite a while until she finally arrived at the Wild Kard wishing to tell Kevin what she had seen. She had heard uproarious commotion coming from both the casino and the ballroom and had decided to go to the casino first.

Except for the spinning roulette wheel, all was quiet as Misty stood there, breathing heavily, trying to take the entire scene in.

Kevin broke the silence by shouting, "Misty!! Help!!!"

Misty glanced down and gazed at the item she was carrying…the giant mallet that she had won at the arcade while unknowingly playing with Dark Sonic just a couple hours earlier! She had been carrying it with her this whole time.

Now her paw gripped the mallet as she cast a death glare at the Suicide King and shouted, "You let Kevin go right now, you big meanie!!" Then, with a battle cry, she ran at top speed towards the robot!

Everybody was too stunned to move, especially Card Trick. They all watched as Misty ran up a broken table, leaped off a tall stack of blackjack tables, and brought the mallet high above her head as she flew straight at the robot.

"Oh crap," muttered CT, his ears falling onto his shoulders.

Misty brought the mallet down exactly where she had aimed: the wrist of the robotic hand that held Kevin. With a 'CLANG', both Kevin and the hand fell off of the robot. The mallet flew out of Misty's paws as she and Kevin landed hard on the ground.

Losing all patience, D.M. shouted, "Let's go, guys! Hit him with everything you got!" She suddenly ran to attack the Suicide King robot. Jonathan, Gareth, and Tortured Artist were no doubt by this sudden outburst, but not wanting to be left out, the three of them charged after D.M. and began throwing anything they could find at the robot and Card Trick.

Kevin struggled to get up and made his way slowly over to Misty, who was just getting up too. "Where the heck have you been?!" he shouted.

"I'll tell you later," said Misty. "Right now, just stop that thing!"

Kevin nodded and helped his friends throw everything from poker chips and coins to table legs and slot machine parts at the Suicide King.

Misty saw her mallet lying on the floor and was just about to grab it when a hand clutched the handle. Darkest Moon looked at Misty with pleading eyes and asked, "Can I borrow this for a minute?"

"Sure," said Misty.

D.M. grinned as she stared at the mallet in her hands. It had been too long since she had used one of these. D.M. glared at the Suicide King and felt the muscles in her arms swell as she swung the mallet back and ran full steam ahead.

Knowing all too well D.M.'s mallet-wielding abilities, Jonathan and Gareth stepped back as D.M. swung the mallet so hard into the robot's leg, it made Card Trick's teeth rattle.

As the battle with the robot raged on, nearly everybody was freed from the spinning roulette wheel when the spiky ball was finally raised as high as it could be.

"Look out!" yelled Chris.

Instinctively, everyone who was free let go of the wheel, sending them flying to the floor. Chris, Joe, Psycho, Gina, Daisy, and Humphrey dizzily regrouped and held onto each other before Daisy screamed, "RX!!! He's still on the wheel!"

By now the wheel was spinning very quickly. RX was going around and around in a blur, trying to squirm his way out of his restraints. Worst of all, the spiky ball was rolling down the wheel towards RX's level.

Chris and Joe looked at each other as the Krew began to panic.

"Quick!" shouted Chris to Joe, "Get him out of there before-…"

At that moment, RX slipped out of his restraints and with a "YAAAA!!!!" crashed headlong into Humphrey, sending them both crashing into the ground.

"Never mind," said Chris.

Daisy rushed over to RX. "Are you alright?" she asked.

RX and Humphrey rubbed their sore heads. "Yeah, we're fine," said RX.

"Uh…guys?" said Joe, staring at the wheel.

Chris followed Joe's gaze. "Uh oh."

The gigantic roulette wheel was now going so fast that the spiky ball jumped onto the ground and rolled harmlessly out of the way. Smoke began billowing from the wheel and sparks began flying as the wheel kept on spinning faster.

"Oh, man, it's gonna blow!!!" shouted Humphrey. "Run, for god's sake, RUN!!"

Chris, Joe, and the rest of the Krew didn't need to be told twice. They took off running towards everyone else yelling and screaming. Kevin, Misty, and the others took one look at the wheel and ran off to take cover, except for D.M., who still bashing away at the Suicide King. Jonathan had to grab her arm to be led away from the robot.

"Hey! Where y'all going?" asked Card Trick. He slowly turned the robot around.

Suddenly, the mechanism that attached the roulette wheel to the floor broke. With a boisterous 'crack' and a spray of sparks, the several-ton wheel flew into the air with startling speed…directly towards the Suicide King!

Card Trick only had time to whisper, "Holyshh…" before he tossed aside the controller and leaped into the air. A fraction of a second later, the wheel slammed into the robot with a crash. Both objects traveled through the air briefly before they slammed into the wall with an equally loud crash. The robot landed on the ground, rendered completely inoperable.

Card Trick, in mid-air, grabbed onto an overhanging light and swung over the room until he let go at the opposite end. He fell to the floor hard, but was more or less unharmed.

Once Jonathan caught sight of Card Trick on the ground, he instantly ran towards him. Everyone else was shaken up momentarily by the impact before they ran after Jonathan.

Card Trick caught sight of Jonathan running towards him, and he took off. He hopped a couple times before he landed in front of an unmarked door. Card Trick didn't hesitate as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

Jonathan ran up to the door and threw it open. Imagine his surprise when all he saw was an empty broom closet. A mop and broom stood in the corner, and some rags were visible on the linoleum floor. A horizontal rod on the far wall had a lone clothes hanger hanging from it. Aside from the light bulb hanging from the ceiling, those items were the only things in the room. Card Trick had vanished.

Jonathan turned around and saw everyone else coming to a stop. They all stared in wonder at the empty room.

"He's…gone," said Jonathan, brilliantly.

"Phooey," said D.M., looking at her mallet. "I wanted to try out this mallet some more."

"Uh, excuse me," said Joe as he huddled with his nervous canine bandmates, "but will someone like to inform us what's going on here?"

But before anyone could begin to respond, Misty tapped Kevin's leg and asked, "Where's big brother?"

Kevin smacked his head, "I forgot all about that!" He looked around as he announced, "Has anyone seen Courage?"

"Who?" asked Joe.

Kevin turned to the band. "Courage…the pink dog who was with me and my dog when we all went to meet you guys backstage at this hotel two nights ago."

"Ohhhh," said the band.

"Yeah, I remember him now," said Psycho. "Is he here? I wanna say 'hi'."

As everyone began mumbling to each other, Kevin crouched down and looked into Misty's eyes. "Where do you think Courage is?" asked Kevin.

"I dunno," said Misty anxiously. "When I came in through the front doors, I heard a big commotion in here and in the ballroom, so I went here…"

"The ballroom…" muttered Kevin. He suddenly stood up straight and yelled, "Quick, everyone! To the ballroom!!" He then turned and began to run towards the casino entrance doors.

"Where?!" called out RX.

"The place where we had our concert," answered Joe. "Hey, Kevin! Wait up!"

Joe and the Krew took off after Kevin and Misty, followed by Tortured Artist and the former agents.

After a few minutes went by, a trapdoor opened up from the floor of the broom closet. Out crawled Card Trick who cautiously got to his feet and checked to make sure the coast was clear. He carefully walked over the debris that was now scattered all over the casino floor. Dust and shrapnel were mixed in with poker chips, coins, and decks of cards. He walked past the broken slot machines and the demolished blackjack tables until he reached the Suicide King robot. It sat against the wall with the roulette wheel sticking out of its metal chest. No amount of repair time could possibly fix this wreck of nuts and bolts.

"Ruined," muttered Card Trick as he stared pitifully at the wreckage. "My casino…ruined…" With one swift movement, he kicked the metal leg of the robot. Of course, since it was metal, CT began hopping on one foot clutching his injured foot. After a moment, he stopped and began to wonder if he should find Dark Sonic and demand to know why he was put through all this. However, he knew that no amount of arguing could deter that mountain of arrogance and stubbornness (not to mention, dangerous-ness) that was Dark Sonic. Card Trick decided to settle on the next best thing.

Instinctively, he reached down and picked up a card off the floor. Coincidently, it was the Ace of Spades.

"I think it's time I paid Rex a little visit," said Card Trick, crumpling the card in his paw.

Next chapter: What happened to Courage and Sandy…the chapter that'll change the course of the entire story…


	24. The Chapter With No Name

**The Chapter with No Name**

Author's note: The chapter you are about to read is our pride and joy. Chris and I have been working on this chapter since this story first started. As such, don't be surprised by the extreme measures we've taken to insure this chapter will leave a lasting impression. Please read at your own risk. –Jonathan R

Co-Author's note: This chapter will forever change Courage from the dog we all know. Everyone has a dark side, and Courage's emotional past has fueled his dark side for years. You are about to see Courage full blown angry, and the evolution that no one saw coming. – Chris Gammon

* * *

"Looks like we'll have to split up," said Gareth.

"Yeah," agreed Kevin. He looked around and muttered, "Too bad this hotel doesn't have a map."

Kevin, Chris, Jonathan, Gareth, Darkest Moon, and Tortured Artist stood in the Wild Kard lobby trying to locate the whereabouts of Armadillo Rex. Courage and Sandy also looked around trying to locate any evidence that Rex was in the hotel.

Courage didn't see much point to looking around the lobby until his eyes drifted down the hallway that led to the ballroom. At once, Courage noticed something was wrong. He stood up straight as he gazed at the ballroom doors way down at the end of the hall. One of the ballroom doors was open slightly, just enough for one to catch a tiny peek inside the massive room.

Almost immediately, an uncomfortable feeling washed over Courage. It was the kind of feeling that foretold bad news was ahead. Courage shivered as he felt his sixth sense go crazy. He couldn't take his eyes off the ballroom as he decided that whatever was causing this feeling was inside the ballroom. And it didn't take a genius to know who that someone was.

Against his will, Courage looked over his shoulder. No one else seemed to notice the open ballroom door. Courage began to worry about what would happen if they all arrived at the ballroom. Sure, they had a slight advantage sticking together, but Rex could still destroy them all if he wanted to without breaking a sweat. Courage didn't want to put everybody at risk. It was his battle…nobody else needed to get involved.

Wondering if he was doing the right thing, Courage reached over and tugged on Kevin's pant leg. Kevin bent down, and Courage whispered in his ear.

"Listen, Kevin. I want you to take everybody to the casino and look around there. I'll go to the ballroom and search there. Don't ask why, just do it. We'll meet up back at the lobby. Please do this for me, okay?"

Kevin stood back up as he looked at Courage oddly. Then, with a small shrug, Kevin turned to everyone and said, "Hey, guys! Since there's more of the hotel on the left, why don't we all go searching over there?" Kevin pointed to the left towards the casino to emphasize his point.

Jonathan scratched his head. "But Kevin, wouldn't it make more sense of we split up in both directions?"

Kevin shook his head. "That'll just give Rex a better advantage. If we all stick together, we'll even the odds."

"It's worth a shot," said D.M.

"Sure," said Chris. "What have we got to lose?"

The words 'Our lives' leaped to the minds of some of them, especially Courage, but nobody dared to say it out loud.

Kevin walked over and pretended to pat Courage on the head, but he leaned over and whispered to Courage, "Good luck, dog. I hope you know what you're doing."

As Kevin turned away, Courage hoped he knew what he was doing too.

Courage felt compelled to go with everyone else to the casino, but his feet were rooted to the spot as he watched everyone walk excitedly towards the casino. Then he turned his attention back to the ballroom. Courage closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked down the ballroom hallway as if in a trance. His pulse quickened as the ballroom door came closer and closer. The emotions knotting his chest were so incongruous, so many. A lack of food was beginning to catch up to him, and his stomach rumbled quietly to emphasize that point.

When Courage finally reached the ballroom door, he looked like a nervous wreck. Sweat was dripping down his tall, erect ears, around his terror-filled eyes, and over his nose before his tongue involuntarily licked some of it while the rest continued its journey down his body. His paws trembled as a migraine attempted to wreak havoc on his brain. He closed his eyes and tried to breath normally again. After taking two deep breaths, Courage forced himself to calm down by telling himself that Rex wasn't inside the ballroom…even though his mind was screaming out that he was.

Courage opened his eyes and glanced up at the brass handles on the door. Since the door was already slightly open, all he needed to do was push it aside even more. Shakily, Courage lifted his paw and reached outwards.

Just before he touched the door, however, Courage felt something tap him on the shoulder. Courage let out a yelp and spun around.

"Shhh, it's just me," said Sandy, looking bewildered by Courage's sudden outburst.

"What are you doing here?" whispered Courage in amazement. "You're supposed to be with Kevin and the others."

Sandy frowned. "Listen, Courage, I am not about to let you face Rex alone. I…"

"I've dealt with him before," said Courage.

"Yeah, but you've always had someone to back you up, be it me or Kevin or Sonic or whoever. Besides…" Sandy grabbed Courage's paw and held it tightly. "…I want to be with you."

Flattered as Courage was, he remained his composure. "It's far too dangerous. You could get hurt or worse!"

"I don't know who better to be with if I do."

Courage sighed. Sandy had guts, he had to admit. "What about Kevin?"

Sandy looked back to where Kevin and the others had disappeared into the casino. "He has plenty of backup. Now, c'mon, are we gonna stop Rex or aren't we?"

Courage gulped. Despite his admiration, he was still worried about Sandy's safety. Nevertheless, Courage reached out to the door and pushed it outward ever so slowly. A whisper of a creak was all that could be heard.

"Stay close," said Courage, squeezing Sandy's paw and looking at her determined expression. Sandy nodded and followed Courage inside.

She didn't know that those would be the last words she would hear from Courage for the next twenty hours.

The Wild Kard Hotel's ballroom was different from when Joe and his K9 Krew performed two nights ago. Half the tables and chairs were missing. The rest were scattered around the perimeter of the ballroom. The stage was also gone, probably sunken into the floor. In its place was a mini-stage, but it was too dark to see what was there. The early morning sun cast red squares of light through the enormous Victorian windows and displayed them where the ceiling met the far wall. This left a macabre, evil aura radiating throughout the entire room.

Courage stood in the center of the grand ballroom. He looked around in fright as Sandy tried in vain to comfort him. The twilight outside gave a chill in the room's air. Since Las Vegas was in the desert, there was at least a sixty-degree difference between night and day temperatures. On top of that, Courage could hear the A/C vents blowing full blast. He could vaguely see his breath come out in long puffs as he tried to calm down.

Courage and Sandy's senses were taut. Any sound, smell, or sight that was out of the ordinary should've been picked up by now, but there was nothing. The air conditioning was most likely to blame, thought Courage. He looked at Sandy who looked back. Both of them wondered if they were on the wrong track.

That's when they heard it. A sound that snapped both their heads to the small stage shrouded in darkness. Now Courage could see that a giant black curtain had been pulled so that the stage was invisible. But it wasn't the curtain that unnerved the two dogs. It was the sound coming from behind the curtain.

Someone was clapping. Very slowly. But this wasn't ordinary clapping. The claps sounded like someone slapping a palm against a plank of wood. On top of that sound was another sound that sounded like quarters tapping against a railroad track. Courage gulped as he realized the previous sound wasn't wooden. It sounded metallic.

A clawed hand was clapping another hand. A metal one.

_Rex_, thought Courage.

As if that thought had been spoken out loud, the curtain was immediately drawn, displaying a surprising image.

A lone spotlight was shining directly down to a wooden office desk. On the desk were a wireless microphone and some red buttons. Seated behind the desk, in an elaborate office chair, was Armadillo Rex, clapping his hands and grinning like a madman.

Courage frowned angrily as he moved slightly in front of Sandy, who also looked frightened, yet very irate.

Rex reached over and grabbed the microphone and brought it to his mouth, knowing full well that the lighting from above increased his wicked demeanor.

"Well, well, well," said Rex in a frighteningly casual and sarcastic tone, like a drugged imitation of Steve Buschemi. Hidden speakers made his voice echo throughout the ballroom. "Look what we got here. Two little lovebirds. Isn't that the sweetest thing?"

Courage and Sandy growled softly, staying rooted to the spot.

"Ya know, Courage," said Rex, adopting a slightly more serious tone, "you've made a lot of friends and enemies over the years. And I gotta tell ya…your enemies suck. At least, the ones in Nowhere do. That red cat, that French duck, that Southern gerbil…all of them hate you, but they're horrible when it comes to trying to destroy you. Hell, they all teamed up against you during that whole Stromwell incident, and they STILL weren't able to get rid of you!" Rex slowly got up from his chair at that point. "And here it is. 2004. And only one of your enemies has yet to return. He's the only enemy from Nowhere who's even come close to destroying you. He's the only one whom I've had a personal interest in. He's remained buried for, like, six years or so, but good news, Courage! He's finally made a triumphant return!" The last two sentences were pronounced like an excited ESPN sportscaster.

Courage and Sandy looked at each other with confused looks. What on earth was Rex talking about? What enemy?

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Rex mocked, "Awww, don't know who I'm talking about, huh? Well, I'm sure it's easy to forget someone…when he's been buried under the floor of the Roman Colosseum!!" Rex shouted.

It took half a second for Courage's expression to change to one of absolute fright. The only time he had ever been there was when…

_Oh, no… _ thought Courage to himself. His sinking stomach had now become a bottomless pit. His mouth hung open with horror and disbelief. Sandy rubbed Courage's paw trying to calm him down. She was more worried about Courage than herself.

"NOW it sinks in!" announced Rex with glee. He started walking around the desk and stopped when he was right next to it. "Well, he's back and meaner than ever. His body was unsalvageable, but his memory banks remained frozen in time. For the past few months, I've been holding him in a room right here in this very hotel. Add a few technological updates and a new body and we got ourselves a real problem on our hands! Or should I say, 'your paws'!"

Rex laughed as he reached over and pushed a button on the desk.

Several things happened at once. First, the desk and chair began to sink into the stage. Second, bright lights from all four corners of the room blinked on. The ballroom had now become a stadium. Finally, the ground beneath Courage and Sandy's feet began to rumble. Startled, the two dogs realized they were standing on the giant Wild Kard logo printed in the center of the room. Courage and Sandy stumbled out of the way as the logo they were standing on moments earlier opened up! Steam and light spewed up from the new opening. Worst of all, a loud metallic growl could be heard inside the hole. Courage and Sandy realized with a start that they had heard that growl before…on the other side of a locked door they often passed near the hotel's front lobby!

Through the steam and light, the figure arose on an elevated platform. The first thought that entered Courage's mind was, "This is not possible." It couldn't be! Courage even closed his eyes and opened them, wishing that what he was seeing was an illusion. To his utter dismay, it wasn't. Sandy was equally shocked by what she saw, and let out a terrified gasp.

Rising up from the ironically white light from below, with eyes that seemed to penetrate into the dark recesses of one's soul, was………Courage!

Only…it wasn't Courage. It bared a striking resemblance to Courage, except its body was cold, metallic silver with purple highlights, black eyes with red pupils, and metallic brown ears and eyebrows. Its back was a dome, painted with the same spot markings as Courage, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth. Its chest appeared to be composed of transparent fiberglass bones like a rib cage, but most startling of all was what was located behind the rib cage. Looking through the bones, Courage and Sandy saw what appeared to be a heart, lungs, and various unidentifiable internal organs. Almost like it was alive. Its left paw held several slashing blades, and the entire body looked like a metallic skeleton. A miniature Terminator, if you will. But unlike the Terminator, it looked like a horrible mishmash of flesh and metal. Rubber hoses were spread throughout its body like veins and flowed with a nasty-looking mix of oil and blood.

Courage shook his head slightly. He knew from his previous encounters with Dark Sonic that this was a cyber-demon. Demons enhanced with mechanical parts. Living machines.

"Ah, yes," said Rex, in a strangely ephemeral tone. "Add a dose of free-will and some heavy artillery for good measure, and you got…" (Short pause for dramatic effect) "MECHA COURAGE 2.0!!!!!" Rex said, laughing like a maniac. "And did I mention Dark Sonic added a few things to him? He's a cyber-demon now!!!! Machines can have souls if done right!"

Courage was frozen in fright at the hideous abomination. Sandy vaguely remembered him telling her about the time he almost died facing Mecha Courage. (Mecha Courage was briefly mentioned in chapter 11.) Courage even had a photo of the machine, but it didn't look like THAT, nor did it seem that smart. Back then, it looked like one of those remote vacuums with ears and a light bulb for a nose. Hardly an imposing machine like this thing was.

"So now," said Rex, with finality in his voice. "That only leaves me with one final question…who's gonna go first?" Rex leaned over and stared directly at Courage. Courage gulped when Rex grinned and said, "I think we all know the answer to that one."

Seeing Rex's line of sight, Sandy made Courage jump when she suddenly bellowed, "YOU LEAVE COURAGE ALONE!!!" Her eyes began welling up in tears.

"BOW-WOW, bitch!" Mecha Courage said in a programmed, machine-like voice. Not waiting for a reaction, the robot instantly got on all fours and took a flying leap towards the two terrified canines. As it flew through the air, roaring like a wild, rabid dog, the robot's back dome opened out and an impossibly long metal arm with an equally impossible large mallet, emerged from it.

Everything went in slow motion as Courage looked up and saw the robot lunging at him while the arm pulled back, ready to swing the mallet into him, like a croquet stick hitting a soft pink ball. Thoughts raced through his mind, too fast to fully register as Courage froze in terror, waiting for the inevitable.

Then, it happened.

The last thing Sandy heard after she blindly slammed into Courage, shoving him out of harm's way, was the sickening crack of the mallet against her side. She flew across the room, limp and ragged, bounced off the floor once, and crashed headlong into the wall so hard that plaster crumbled from the wall onto nearby tables and chairs. Sandy was briefly embedded in the wall until gravity pulled her to the floor in a crumpled heap, leaving a hole in the wall.

Courage lay on the floor, dazed and confused. He knew he had been pushed, but refused to believe what had just happened. The robot missed, he thought. Everything's all right. But when Courage glanced up, his worst suspicions had come true. Far across the room lay Sandy's limp body, stretched out on the floor, as silent and immobile as a corpse.

For a brief moment, Courage felt zero emotion. Just a blank sense of nothingness. Then, from somewhere deep inside him, something began to grow. He felt something. A feeling. A feeling so powerful, it surprised even himself. He had felt a similar sensation before when Sandy was taken away by that sand vortex a couple years ago when he first met the Hendersons. But now it was beginning to multiply ten-fold, untamed. Courage started experiencing a rage he never knew he had. Even as his anger grew at an alarming rate, he was already prepared to tear that cyber-robot apart with his teeth if he had to.

"Tsk tsk tsk," said Rex, who was still standing on the stage. A mixed look was on his face, one of unusual melancholy. "Why is it that someone close to you always has to get hurt before you put aside your fears and fight? I mean, shouldn't logic tell you to do that BEFORE someone gets hurt? Someone has to poke you with a stick to get you to do anything at all. WHY?!" Rex asked.

With every word Rex spoke, Courage's rage increased. As a response to Rex's last question, Courage took a full-on run towards the stage ready to tear that armadillo's head off. Mecha Courage, however, jumped into the air and slammed into Courage's side, knocking him into the floor.

Rex laughed. "Play nice, you two. I'm gonna get some breakfast!" Rex said, rubbing his stomach. He walked out, leaving the two enemies alone.

"Now then," said Mecha Courage, mechanically. As his red eyes dilated, his next words were not mechanical at all. A new, deeper, more sinister voice took its place as it said, "Where were we?" He stared at Courage, who was struggling to get up. "Now I remember!"

The machine picked Courage up and without hesitation, threw him into the shelf of bottles behind the bar on the far wall. Drenched in alcoholic beverages, Courage rolled off the shelf and onto the floor. He got up on all fours, winded and bleeding due to the shards of broken glass on the floor. But like before, he wasn't going to give up. Especially since Sandy's life (if any left) was at stake.

"I admire your perseverance," said Mecha Courage with perfect vocabulary, "but alas, it's all in vain. You have nothing to gain from winning this battle, except maybe showing everyone that deep inside…you're just like Rex."

Courage did a double-take, wondering if he had heard correctly. Just like Rex? Impossible!

Courage peeked out from behind the bar. He struggled to get to his feet. He stared at the robot, who was preparing for another attack.

Courage was panting heavily but managed a response. "Only…because…Rex…made me…this way…" Courage gasped out between breaths.

The robot was unfazed. "So what if Rex smacked you around and killed a part of your soul that you will never get back? Everyone has a dark side, and yours is starting to come out. If you intend to kill Rex for what he's done to you, you're no better than he is. And what will you gain from it? A nagging conscience, a feeling of guilt, someone's death on your hands?"

Courage saw that his enemy made a shockingly valid point. He didn't WANT to become what he was now, but then again, neither did Rex. By taking advantage of this pent up anger, he would be no better than Rex himself. Courage didn't want to stoop to Rex's level, which would be insanity.

But he had no choice if he wanted to survive.

Just like Rex………………

This realization made Courage even more upset. In order to defeat his enemy, he had to become the thing he hated the most.

Mecha leaped into the air again. Courage tried to duck back behind the bar, but the robot was too fast. Mecha grabbed Courage by the neck and began to crush his airway.

"So if I kill you, I'm doing you a favor, just like Rex," The cyber-demon said, smiling his shark-toothed smile.

Courage struggled and brought out the fire axe from behind his back. He had grabbed it from the case behind the bar when he was getting up. With a surreal burst of energy, he swung the axe around and brought it down right between the machines eyes. This released the hand around his neck instantly. Courage caught sight of Sandy nearby and immediately ran towards her.

"Why you little…" The machine trailed off as he produced a pair of machine guns from his shoulders. Fluidly, Courage dove, rolled across the floor, grabbed up Sandy, and ducked under a table. He shoved the table over to give cover.

Courage jerked away from the table as the bullets filled it full of holes. It felt like 100 shots per second. However, the roar of machine-gunfire seemed to be momentarily muted once Courage looked at Sandy's unresponsive body. He sniffed back his tears as he brushed an ear out of her face. Gently, Courage laid her down on the floor out of harm's way and got on his knees. He peered over the table, and instantly jerked back behind as more gunfire filled the room. The glass window behind Courage started shattering, and Courage used himself to shield Sandy from the raining shards.

Noticing the table wouldn't hold up much longer, Courage kissed Sandy before he attempted to move. Courage bolted around the perimeter of the room, tipping over tables and chairs as he went to provide cover from the fire. This kept up until the attacker ran out of ammo.

Courage saw his chance. Grabbing a chair, he ran towards Mecha Courage and leaped into the air! The chair slammed into the side of the robot's head, knocking it to the floor like an unwanted toy. The chair splintered apart in a hail of splinters.

The machine shook its head and stood back up, unfazed, and laughed a metallic cackle. To Courage's surprise, the robot launched up high into the air and began firing some sort of bladed boomerangs from his wrists.

"This guy's got way too many weapons," thought Courage blindly. "I can never survive long enough to exhaust them all." He almost seemed to dance as he dodged the onslaught. The machine soon stopped his projectile attack, and switched to a melee weapon. His wrist blades extended as he took a straight dive towards Courage, threatening to slam them through Courage's skull.

Courage, by this time, had found his way back to the bar…and the axe. Grabbing it, Courage spun around and jumped toward the diving robot. At the last minute, Courage swung the axe upwards and sliced the robot's left arm clean off. This made the robot even more pissed.

Meanwhile, at the hotel pool, Rex was floating on an inner tube, drinking a smoothie, and looking at the ceiling. He had changed his mind about breakfast once he'd remembered that he was going to have breakfast with Cindy after Courage's futile battle. Instead, Rex made himself a mango/orange/peach/strawberry smoothie and decided to relax a bit in the pool. The enormous ceiling fan blades slowly spun around like a clock.

Rex smiled to himself. "I wonder if those two are still fighting?" he asked himself. His curiosity got the better of him as he got out of the pool, dried himself off, and went to change. Moments later, wearing sandals, jeans, and a Wild Kard Staff shirt, he ran back to the ballroom door. He placed his ear to the door and heard shattering glass, splintering wood, and gunfire.

"Damn, they're still fighting! Guess I'll take the stage entrance." Rex said, going in the direction of the stage door.

Once he walked up on the stage, Rex saw the ballroom was a mess. Broken glass, bullet holes, and overturned tables and chairs were everywhere. He shook his head in disgust and dragged over a chair, sitting on it backwards.

"Mecha Courage, good dog!" Rex said, quoting the robot's original inventor, Di Lung.

Courage, by now, was severely battered, bruised, bloody, and broken. But his will kept him going. His adrenaline-fueled anger made him oblivious to pain and his injuries.

Courage leapt in a blinding rage and began to pummel the crippled robot with several chairs and tables. In a last ditch cheap shot, Mecha Courage shoved his organic counterpart off and transformed. Four huge legs unfolded from its dome and it walked like a giant robotic spider. A huge saw blade emerged from the dome and swung inches from Courage's face, narrowly missing his nose. It walked towards Courage, each foot sinking into the floor as the thick ichors pumping through its rubber veins gave the impression that the robot was breathing.

The massive machine lumbered towards Courage, who instantly grabbed several bottles of alcohol and began tossing them at the mechanical thing. It didn't even phase the monster, until a shard of glass severed one of the "veins".

Mecha Courage stumbled as it transformed back to its normal form. It seemed to be in a great deal of pain by this sudden loss of fuel. Courage began to feel his blood boil and began to slam more chairs into the robot, showing no mercy.

As a final, last ditch effort, Mecha Courage activated its self-destruct sequence. He knocked Courage back and grabbed him from behind. A suicide attack.

Rex stepped off the stage and casually wandered up to the two fighting foes. He laughed as the robot held Courage in place. Rex walked right up to Courage and stared him in the face.

"You can't beat me," said Rex, flatly. In one swift motion, Rex punched Courage in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "I'm immortal, remember?" Rex punched him again, enjoying every moment of the taunting like a school bully. "Face it, Courage," said Rex. A few more seconds and Courage would go out with a bang. "You're screwed."

Courage felt himself tense up, every negative emotion he had almost reached the breaking point. Courage stared at Rex coldly and could only think of one thing to say…

"Screw this."

At that moment, his rage climaxed. With an unbelievable force coursing through his body, Courage grabbed the robot behind him, lifted Mecha Courage up over his head, slammed him into Rex, and knocked them both to the floor…all in one fluid, powerful movement.

Just then, a loud 'BEEP' blared from the robot.

"Holy…" thought Courage before he turned, took two large steps, and took a flying leap into the air.

Then, Mecha Courage exploded.

The explosion's shock wave hit Courage while he was in mid air. It felt like someone giving Courage a gigantic push. Tiny pieces of the robot nicked Courage's body as he landed hard next to a broken table.

Every window, along with every stadium light and unbroken bottle at the bar, shattered into a million pieces from the ensuing shockwave. The glass rained down on the back alley behind the ballroom. More glass from the lights rained down onto the floor. Courage crawled under the table to protect himself from the raindrops of glass. Looking back to where Rex and Mecha Courage had stood before, he could only see smoke and ash.

Courage struggled to get to his feet and felt a sharp pain sting his leg. He wondered if something was broken or sprained. He limped out from the table and slowly made his way to where Rex had been standing. Pieces of blackened metal and glass were scattered around the ballroom floor like a giant jigsaw puzzle from hell. Courage tried his best to avoid the glass and metal, but they punctured his feet nonetheless. He didn't feel much pain, though. All he could focus on was the epicenter of the explosion.

The morning sun was shining more brightly now. Larger rectangles of yellow sunlight stretched down the far wall, illuminating the room with a golden hue, much different from the red aura when Courage first entered the room. Courage also caught a glimpse of a small electrical fire near the base of the wall. He hoped it wouldn't spread.

When Courage approached the center of the explosion, the smoke cleared to reveal a grisly scene. Engulfed in flames was what remained of Mecha Courage…a twisted pile or metallic rubble that still resembled Courage, much to Courage's dismay. Radiating outwards from the robot were black blast marks on the floor. One of those marks pointed directly at Rex, who was twitching violently on the floor.

Without a word, Courage walked over to Rex.

When Courage finally stood over Rex, he couldn't believe the armadillo was still alive. A wave of nausea washed over Courage as he observed the gruesome scene. Rex's shirt and sandals were burned to a crisp and his jeans were badly burned. Even more shocking, Rex's entire chest and stomach had been blown wide open. Most of his internal organs looked damaged, although his heart and lungs were still moving erratically. His skin was covered in second-degree burns and started peeling everywhere. His right leg was twisted at an impossible angle as well as his non-metallic arm. In fact, the only parts of his body that appeared undamaged were his metal arm and tail.

Silver liquid was everywhere, and Courage remembered that Rex's blood was silver because he had millions of nanobots injected into his blood to regenerate his body if he was harmed. But Courage couldn't see how Rex could ever recover from this even with nanobots.

Rex turned his black, lipless face to Courage and began to laugh. Silver liquid dripped from the corners of his mouth to his exposed jawbone and down to the large puddle on the floor. Courage continued to stand over Rex, a dark look in his eyes. With every laugh, Courage's fist tightened harder and harder. Courage could feel the cool morning air blow through the broken windows. It felt good on his sweat and blood-drenched body, but he didn't care.

"Well," gargled Rex, his voice box barely functioning. "How does it feel?" Rex flashed a smile.

Courage didn't reply. Instead, he noticed a particularly sharp shard of wood on the floor next to him. He grabbed it and held it in his paws like Arthur holding Excalibur. His mind was completely off as he was about to do the unthinkable.

Rex's smile faded as he saw this act. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," said Rex with disgust.

Courage began to tremble slightly, as Rex continued his rant. "Awww, come on now, Buffy! You don't honestly think THAT will kill me? Do you? Huh?"

Courage still remained silent. Then, slowly and menacingly, he raised the plank over his head, the sharp end pointed directly at Rex's exposed entrails.

Rex, not seeming to care one way or the other about Courage's actions, muttered, "OK, sure, fine, go do what you gotta do. I ain't stopping you, as if I care. C'mon, already!! What are you waiting f-…?"

With a loud and sickening 'squish', Courage slammed the wood down into Rex's chest, right through the heart.

Rex's head and neck jerked up, his eyes wide. He looked at Courage and briefly felt a moment of pure satisfaction.

"Welcome to my world………………"

Finally, Rex fell back and went completely limp.

For an entire minute, Courage stood and stared at the mass that was once Rex, still trying to grasp what he had just done. It seemed impossible, but it had happened. He had just killed Armadillo Rex, his sworn enemy. His former master. Courage blindly wondered what he had become. How could he face Kevin again now that Rex and Sandy were…gone? How could he even go back to Nowhere?

Abruptly, the emotion was too much for Courage, and he broke down and sobbed. He didn't want to do this. He never even DREAMED of doing what he just did. Not in his wildest dreams.

Suddenly, a rattling caught his attention. Courage stopped weeping and turned his tear-streaked face towards the pile of rubble that used to be Mecha Courage.

To his horror, the blackened pile moved and began to repair itself! The robot was reassembling, even though it was still on fire! Replacing its lost hands with guns from it's back, all of Mecha Courage's weapons were suddenly extended out in a fan-like formation. Like a peacock armed with weaponry.

It looked and saw Rex's limp body.

"Well, looks like I'm gonna have to do things my way now!" it said in its cold, metallic voice.

In the blink of an eye, Mecha Courage flashed forward in blinding speed and snatched Courage by the scruff of his neck. He yanked the dog off his feet and leaped out through one of the broken windows. It jumped off the adjacent building and began to leap back and forth from building to building, all the way to the roof of the ballroom…all within ten seconds.

"Now that we got a more open area with less cover, I got something to show you," the robot said. He flung Courage to the other side of the roof. Courage landed hard, but got back up on his feet and looked back at his robotic twin.

To Courage's horror, the robot's legs instantly folded up into its body. Giant treads folded out in their place. Now half tank, he could mow Courage down as well. The morning sun reflected brightly from the robot's metal body.

A volley of missiles erupted from the back of this mechanical menace. Courage dove behind the air conditioning duct hoping to dodge some of the onslaught. But to his dismay, they were homing missiles, the kind that traveled through the air until it hit their desired target.

Courage ran quickly, trying his best to avoid the missiles. After three near misses, Courage was slightly singed, but not badly burned. He leapt out from behind another duct and landed on the back of the monster, who had come over to get a closer look. Courage tried to pull the head off, but was poked by several blades that were among the robot's weapons.

Mecha Courage quickly transformed back and grabbed Courage by the throat, hanging him off the side of the ten-story building.

"Time to meet your maker," laughed the robot.

He let go, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. Courage surely thought this was the end. Fortunately, before he was even halfway down, a blur slammed him into through a window and down several flights of stairs. The struggling enemies crashed through an unmarked door and found themselves back in the ballroom.

Courage was completely fed up by this point. He had had enough of this. No living thing could tolerate this much pain and torture for much longer. He was to the brink now.

The robot hunched forward and ceremoniously appeared to burst out like a flower, unveiling his massive fleshy metal wings. This mishmash seemed to be invincible.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega!" the robot screeched. "The ultimate merging of flesh, bone, metal, and hatred!"

Being a cyber-demon, this meant that he had an infinite amount of weapons, and some impossible weapons to boot. A gigantic laser cannon emerged from the back of the living machine. The laser was longer than the robot itself. Impossible, unless the creature itself was impossible, and this was as unreal as you could get.

The laser warmed up and readied to fire. An orb of energy grew bigger and bigger on the tip of the laser and a high-pitched whine grew higher and higher. Now, Mecha Courage 2.0 no longer resembled Courage's body, but a writing pile of flesh and metal. The head and limbs remained, but the rest seemed to expand and transform to accommodate. A mass of circuits and flesh ready to destroy Courage in an instant was before him. A "Final Boss" if you will.

In a panic, Courage looked around, searching for something…anything…to combat against this monstrosity. A table…a chair…Sandy…the stage…Rex…

Courage stopped as his eyes gazed upon the corpse of his former master. His broken left arm was useless. But his other arm, the metal one, was filled with destructive weaponry. If Courage could activate that arsenal somehow…

It was his only chance.

Courage rushed over to Rex and grabbed his metal arm. He had been the victim of this arm before, but now he was the one to control it. Trouble was, all the weapons were inside the arm, and Courage didn't know how to activate them.

He looked back at the robot, which was still charging his laser. He didn't have much time left.

Courage looked all over the arm looking for a trigger or button or something. Finally, Courage caught sight of a tiny red button on Rex's elbow. Some words were printed around the button:

"ACTIVATE FULL WEAPONRY. USE ONLY FOR MASS DESTRUCTION."

Perfect.

Courage grabbed the arm and was surprised by how heavy it was. Using every last drop of adrenaline he had, Courage aimed it directly at the glowing sphere on the end of the laser.

The robot laughed. "You cannot destroy me. My mind can process billions more calculations than yours. I will destroy you effortlessly because I can think more."

Courage couldn't believe his dumb luck. The robot had practically told him how to stop it. Courage stopped aiming at the laser and instead aimed right at the robot's head.

It can't do anything if it can't think, thought Courage to himself.

As the robot began laughing, the words, "Shut up," left Courage's mouth as he pressed the button.

Instantly, every piece of arsenal inside Rex's arm popped out. Missiles, rockets, machine guns, grenades, lasers, and a flamethrower revealed themselves. Courage worried that his aim would be thrown off, but a tripod conveniently ejected to the floor, keeping his aim true. His eyes wide with surprise and terror, Courage ducked under the only cover available. Rex's body.

When all of Rex's weapons fired at once, the sound was deafening. Courage could barely hear the cyber-demon scream in pain.

Then came the loudest sound of all. Later, Courage theorized that one of Rex's ammo must've missed its target and hit the laser orb. The explosion was twice as powerful as Mecha Courage's first explosion. A phenomenal rush of wind and heat flew over Courage, who continued to be shielded, thanks to Rex. It felt like a jet engine had blown up.

The blast lasted for about three seconds. Afterwards, all Courage could hear was a ringing in his ears. Somehow, Courage found some strength to emerge from under Rex. He could only get up to his knees, though, as he looked around and surveyed the apocalyptic scene. Judging from the damage, it was a miracle Courage was still alive. All traces of the cyber-demon had vanished; no burning hulks of metal this time. A cloud of smoke and ash hung in the air, just like before, but thicker than during the first explosion. The Victorian windows were gone. There were only holes in the wall where the windows had been. In fact, all around, entire sections of wall had been destroyed. The stage was decimated, as well as most of the chairs and tables. Small fires licked what was left of the furniture. The air conditioner wasn't running anymore. Pieces of paper fluttered in the air, but from where, nobody knew. Courage looked up and was amazed to see the ceiling was gone! Up above, two levels of floorless hallways and rooms were barely visible through the haze. Also, enormous rays of sunlight punctured through the smoke, creating a dream-like, otherworldly atmosphere to the ballroom…or what was left of it.

Courage saw one of those rays fall on him and Rex. Rex, if it was possible, looked even worse now. He looked like a rotten vegetable that had been badly burned. Surprisingly, his internal organs remained intact, black and charred as they were. Courage actually wished Rex were still alive, but only so that he could sense how painful his body must feel.

Courage abruptly looked across the room. Another ray of sunlight fell on Sandy. She still did not move, and Courage felt remorse. He didn't move from his spot, fearing that if he found Sandy dead, he'd probably die right with her. Instead, Courage turned around and stared at the awful hulk that had once been a crazed, psychotic armadillo. He stared long and hard at his former enemy, the single source of most of his pain and anguish.

Then, Courage let out a sound through his throat. It wasn't a sob or a cry.

It was a laugh.

Courage chuckled twice, before he stopped and realized what he had done. The cyber-demon was right.

"You have nothing to gain from winning this battle, except maybe showing everyone that deep inside…you're just like Rex…by killing him for what he's done, you're no better than he is. And what will you gain from it? A nagging conscience, a feeling of guilt, someone's death on your hands?"

Courage remained on his knees and trembled. What had he become? He was no longer the nervous, scared little dog that his friends knew so well. It seemed those feelings were ghosts now…mere illusions that vanished at the sight of seeing someone he loved be crushed to death. He had changed. He couldn't see the sunlight or the damaged walls of the ballroom anymore. All saw was the smoky haze…the smoky haze that was coiling around him, suffocating him. All the horrible things that had happened in the past hour…the horrible things he had done…they were all his doing. His fault. He had just crossed the line between sanity and insanity…a line Rex had crossed so many years ago.

And there was no turning back.


	25. Evacuation

"Evacuation"

When Mecha Courage exploded the second time, the blast didn't go unnoticed.

Kevin Henderson hadn't taken three steps out of the casino when the blast nearly knocked him off his feet.  He landed against a wall and wondered if a propane tank or a gas line blew up outside.  Behind him, Jonathan tried to regain his balance as he looked down past the lobby towards the ballroom.  To his horror, the ballroom wall, along with the doors, were engulfed in a cloud of fire and smoke.  Tortured Artist, Gareth, Chris, and D.M. ran out of the casino just in time to see the cloud of smoke drift into the lobby.  All four of them looked at each other with shocked expressions.  Misty fell on all fours as she fearfully wondered what had happened.  Joe and the Krew were still trying to make their way out of the casino when the explosion threw them off balance. 

"What was that?!" shouted Joe, emerging from the casino with his band. 

"It sounded like a bomb!" yelled Jonathan.

"Why is Rex bombing his own hotel?!" asked Tortured Artist.

"Maybe that isn't Rex!" shouted Psycho, grabbing onto Joe's leg for support.

"Well, who is it?  Greenpeace was pissed because the hotel's polluting some stream?!" yelled Chris.

Before Jonathan could respond, he looked around frantically and noticed that Courage was missing.  In fact, he couldn't remember Courage even being in the casino with them.    He suddenly glanced at Kevin and asked, "Where's Courage?"

Kevin looked around frantically.  "I thought he was with you!"

Jonathan's gaze suddenly snapped to the ballroom.  "You don't think…?"

Kevin and Misty looked at each other with fright.  Immediately, they both ran towards the ballroom, shouting Courage's name.  Everyone else followed them.

Along the way, RX shouted to Joe, "Shouldn't we call Allen?!" (Allen, remember, is still stuck in a closet in the Wild Kard Hotel.)

"Later, dog!" said Joe as he kept running.

When Misty and Kevin reached the lobby, they stopped.  The smoke was getting thicker.  Kevin turned around and saw everyone running towards them.  He looked around and noticed that Sandy was nowhere to be seen.

Kevin turned to Misty and asked, "Where's Sandy?"

Misty shrugged her shoulders and nervously said, "Maybe she went with Courage?"

"Oh, god," whispered Kevin as he ran full-steam through the smoke towards the ballroom, just as everyone else arrived in the lobby.  Misty looked back at everyone before she ran after Kevin.

"What now?" asked Chris to Jonathan.

Jonathan looked around.  The light coming from the front doors beamed through the smoke.  Jonathan looked around some more and noticed a phone on the front desk.  He reached over and picked it up.  Thankfully, it was still working.  "Joe!!" he shouted to Joe.  "Get over here and call the authorities!  The rest of you, follow me!"  With that, Jonathan ran off after Kevin and Misty.

As Joe dialed 911, he ordered the Krew to do what Jonathan said.  Reluctantly, the Krew ran down the hall with the former agents and Tortured Artist.

Kevin's T-shirt was pulled up over his face as he made his way through the smoke.  His eyes stung as his arms were outstretched trying to find the ballroom doors.  It wasn't long before he caught sight of a large hole in the wall to his left.  The ballroom entrance had been blown open.  Kevin stumbled through the hole and could vaguely see a clearing through the smoke.  Kevin continued moving until he emerged from the smoke. 

"Oh my god!!!" screamed Kevin.

Misty came up behind him and shouted "What?!"  Then she looked in front of her and gasped.

The ballroom looked like it had been turned inside out and incinerated.  Everything was covered in a gray layer of dust.  Standing on his knees in the center of rubble and debris was a gray, dust-coated Courage.  Near him was a burned-up mass that looked like a body…or more precisely, a fried body after a massive autopsy. 

Kevin and Misty ran towards Courage, but they stopped when they caught sight of him shaking slightly.  Mixed in with the dust, Courage's body was stained with silver and red blood, and his body looked battered and bruised.  They walked slowly around him and were surprised when they saw his eyebrows set heavily over his eyes.

"Courage?" asked Kevin.  He glanced to the side and did a double take as he suddenly caught sight of the body next to him. 

"R-Rex?" muttered Kevin, fighting the urge to throw up.  The plank of wood still stuck out of Rex's heart.

Misty bent down and looked at Courage's eyes.  They no longer looked friendly like when she reunited with him at the restaurant.  They looked cold.  Changed.

"What's happened to you, brother?" whispered Misty.  She looked like she was about to cry.

Kevin turned back and pushed Misty aside.  "Where's Sandy?" asked Kevin, holding Courage's shoulders.

"Kevin?" said a voice from the entrance.  Kevin turned and saw Jonathan standing with D.M., Chris, Gareth, and Tortured Artist.  Jonathan was pointing to the far wall to the left.  Kevin looked to where Jonathan was pointing, and saw a small pink form lying against a burning table.

"Oh god…" murmured Kevin as he got to his feet.  "Oh god, no…"

Kevin stumbled towards Sandy as the K9 Krew entered the room.  The five dogs looked around in shock and awe.  They saw Tortured Artist running to put out a small fire near a wall.  They saw the former agents comfort Misty who was still asking what happened to Courage.  They saw Kevin let out a wail as he finally reached Sandy and tried in vain to wake her up.  He shouted her name in her ear and sobbed out loud when he received no answer.

The scene was almost too much for Gina and Daisy to take in.  They tightened their grips around Psycho and RX's paws respectively and fought to keep back tears.  Humphrey was the first one to slowly make his way down to where Courage was.  The rest of the band followed close behind.

Jonathan held his finger in front of Courage's face and moved it from side to side.  Courage's eyes didn't follow it.

"What on Earth's wrong with big brother?" asked Misty, trying not to cry.

"I don't know," said Jonathan.  "I think he's in shock or something."

"Should he lie down?" asked Gareth.   

"How the heck did this happen?" asked Humphrey, who came up behind Jonathan.  The rest of the band gathered around him.

Jonathan looked around at the damage.  "I…I don't know…I think-…"

"OHMYGOD!!!" screamed Psycho suddenly.  Everyone turned around and stared at him.  The dog was staring wide-eyed at Rex's disheveled body.  The other band members gasped at the horrific scene.  They were stunned to find out that the same being that had interviewed them yesterday now looked worse than Swiss cheese.  The former agents were equally shocked when they noticed Rex.  After viewing the video last night, they had hoped to talk to him, but it didn't look like that was going to happen now.  Gina, Daisy, and D.M. looked away in disgust and shock.

Psycho began shaking as he approached his online buddy.  The body looked unrecognizable.  Scorched and burned like a victim of spontaneous combustion, the metal tail and arm were still more or less undamaged.  Psycho remembered the interview…how Rex was so full of personality.  He had always mentioned in his emails and instant messages how he always enjoyed talking to Psycho…and how much fun he had…how it always kept his mind off of his enemy…that annoying pink dog who…

…was standing right over there.

Psycho slowly turned his head towards Courage.  His pulse pounded in his ears as Psycho breathed heavily, his paws turning into fists. 

"You…killed…William?" Psycho whispered loudly through clenched teeth.

Courage's pupils instantly dilated upon hearing that name.  Nobody ever called Rex 'William' unless he was a close friend or acquaintance.  Courage slowly got to his feet, his gaze still distant, and slowly turned around to face Psycho.  Misty began shaking with fright.  She had never seen her brother like that before.  She'd never seen ANYONE act like that before.

Psycho's breathing began to get quicker and louder until finally he bellowed, "You just killed my online friend, you bastard!!!!"

If Courage had been acting normally, he probably would have been extremely bewildered and would've stammered out some form of apology.  But at the moment, Courage was far from normal.  To Courage, the insult felt like a plank of wood had been driven into _his_ heart.  

Nobody was prepared for what Courage did next.  Courage bent his knees slowly.  Thinking he was going to fall to the ground, Psycho opened his mouth to yell out another insult, but he stopped short when he heard a low growl coming Courage.  Before Psycho or anyone else could respond, Courage suddenly turned around and, with surprising speed, leaped straight at Psycho!  The two dogs collided and tumbled to the ground.  What ensued next were five seconds of violent quarreling between the two dogs.  The struggle was filled with punches, scratches, grabs, bites, growls, and swearing.

Everyone froze for a moment before they rushed in to break the two dogs up.  Jonathan and Chris were startled by how forceful Courage had become.  Gareth, Tortured Artist, and D.M. had to help break Courage away from his adversary.  The other members of the K9 Krew helped pull Psycho away from Courage.  Misty, who was more shocked than anyone by Courage's spontaneous actions, just stood there sobbing. 

It was impossible for Courage to look anymore banged up than he already was.  Surprisingly, Psycho came away with a black eye, several scratches to his face and arms, and a tear on his shirt.  He was also foaming at the mouth slightly and had patches of dust all over his body.

Suddenly, Joe came running into the scene.  He brought out his arms to keep a safe distance between the separated canines and asked what was going on.

Psycho suddenly shouted when he saw Courage throw something at him.  Luckily, it bounced off of Psycho harmlessly and hit the ground next to his foot.  Humphrey broke away from the group and picked it up.

It was the bone bracelet that Psycho had given to Courage when he visited him backstage two nights ago.  Humphrey remembered being backstage during that time too and had witnessed Psycho giving the bracelet to Courage.  He also remembered telling Courage that, "Psy only gives those to people he likes."

"Gimme that," said Psycho, ending Humphrey's brief flashback.  "He doesn't deserve it."

Without a word, Humphrey handed the bracelet to Psycho, who swiftly placed it in his pocket.

"Joe, did you call the authorites?" asked Jonathan.

"They're already here," was his answer.

Then, like water from a faucet, a parade of firemen and rescue workers ran through the entrance of the ballroom. 

The next few minutes flew by in a blur.  Firemen ran to the fires and attempted to put them out.  Other people moved aside rubble and ran to the people and dogs already inside.  Kevin, who now carried Sandy in his arms, stumbled to any rescuer he could see, screaming out, "Please!  Please, somebody help my dog!!"  Firemen, policemen, and hospital personnel instantly confronted Tortured Artist and the former agents.  They all began talking and yelling at once.  Joe also began yelling at them for not getting there sooner. 

Nobody was giving much attention to the dogs.  Courage, Misty, and the K9 Krew watched as the rescue workers who towered over them ran by without so much as a passing glance.  Through the smoke, Courage caught sight of a red-faced Kevin handing Sandy over to a rescue official who was carrying a stretcher.  Courage broke away from the canine crowd and began making his way towards Sandy.  Courage was followed by his sister, Misty, who was followed by the K9 Krew.  Joe saw the dogs running off so he followed them.  Tortured Artist followed Joe, who was also followed by the former agents, so by the time everyone reached Kevin, Sandy was already being hauled away on the stretcher.

As Jonathan made his way to the ballroom entrance, Tortured Artist grabbed his shoulder and pointed back to the middle of the ballroom.  Jonathan looked to see what he was pointing at.  To his surprise, he saw somebody dragging Rex's body away.  The figure was draped in a hooded robe, so it was impossible to see who it was.  Nobody else seemed to notice the figure as it disappeared through the smoke.

"Who the heck was that?" asked Tortured Artist.

"I don't know," said Jonathan.  "Probably someone who works at a morgue or something.  At least somebody's getting that carcass out of here."  He and Tortured Artist continued on their way.

Making their way from the ballroom to the road outside was not easy.  An endless sea of people rushed around them through the smoke and dust.  Many people, mostly policemen, were grabbing onto the former agents asking who was responsible.  They had no choice but to brush them off.  When they all reached the lobby, beams of morning sunlight (plus the added blinking lights of emergency vehicles) flooded the room.  Then, once they cleared the front doors, it was as if a veil was lifted.  A chaotic scene lay before them.  Fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, news vans were parked all around.  Helicopters circled overhead.  People were running everywhere, but thankfully debris was minimal, except for lots of glass on the ground.  Beyond the emergency vehicles, some traffic was stopped and crowds of onlookers covered the street.

Sandy was led towards the nearest ambulance.  Kevin stood on the right, Courage on the left, and rescue workers on either end.  Misty held onto Courage's hand.  She looked at his brother, who now had a stunned expression of defeat on his face.  Misty wished she were already at the hospital.  Joe finally caught up with the K9 Krew and tried to get them to tell him what happened while he was phoning the authorities.  However, the Krew was too busy fending off rescue workers and nosy police dogs to answer him. 

The former agents stayed close together as they traveled through the nightmarish scene. Tortured Artist, bringing up the rear, decided then and there that Reno was a much safer place to play poker than in Vegas. 

When Sandy was finally loaded into the ambulance, Kevin tried to go in with her, as did everybody else.  The uniformed man inside the vehicle said there wasn't enough room for all of them.  After some negotiating, Kevin, Courage, and Misty were allowed inside.  Kevin asked them man where they were going.

"Las Vegas General," was the answer.

Kevin ran back to the rear and looked at the others.  "They're taking her to Las Vegas General!" he announced in a scratchy voice.  "Find some way to get there, okay?!  I won't be able to get through this without all of you with me!"  With that, Kevin slammed the door and the ambulance drove off.

The others began looking around wondering how they were going to get to the hospital.  Joe suddenly had an idea.  He grabbed a passing worker and said, "Please, this dog needs to get to a hospital!"  Joe pointed at Psycho.  Sensing the black eye and torn shirt wouldn't be enough, Psycho coughed to add to his bad condition.  That was how Joe and the Krew got a free ride to the hospital.

Tortured Artist and the former agents were stumped at first.  How were they going to get to the hospital if they were more or less unharmed?  Finally, Joe came across a friendly police officer who was convinced that they need to get to a hospital.  It took two police cars to carry the former agents out of the melee and towards the hospital.

In a room not too far away from the ballroom, a door opened.  The room, although it was two rooms behind the ballroom, was barely scratched by the blast.  The door leading into the room slowly swung open.

The hooded figure struggled as Rex's body was slowly dragged into the room.  A silver trail of blood followed him on the floor.  The figure closed the door and pulled Rex to the middle of the room.  Once Rex was positioned on the floor, the figure removed the hood.

Cindy tearfully stared down at Rex's body.  After her early morning shower, Cindy had gone looking for Rex.  After searching the upper floors and the rear of the hotel, Cindy had heard the first explosion and ran back to the front of the hotel.  Just as she was about to enter the ballroom, the second explosion occurred, knocking her out for a few minutes.  When she came to, she peeked into the ballroom and saw emergency workers pouring into the room.  When she caught sight of Rex on the ground, she decided she'd rather get him out of there herself than have some hospital worker take him away.  So, after finding a dark robe in a nearby bathroom, Cindy snuck into the ballroom and dragged Rex out.

A trail of blood dripped down her forehead at the same rate as her tears.  Sadly, she grabbed Rex's scorched hand and bent over, sobbing on Rex's dislocated shoulder.  She had spent so long studying Rex, learning about him…enough to form a physical relationship with him, that it didn't seem possible for it to end.  Not like this.  It…

Suddenly, Cindy felt something clamp down hard on her furry hand.  Her head jerked up and she gasped when she saw Rex's hand closed around hers.  Cindy looked at Rex's body and saw it moving!  The silver blood that was splashed all over his body was soaking through his injured organs…repairing him.

A gargling sound erupted from Rex's throat.  He was trying to say something.  Cindy could actually see his voice box submerged with liquid.  She knew now that the nanobots in Rex's blood had finally started working to fix Rex.

Rex continued gargling fluid until Cindy realized he was trying to say the word, "I."

"W-what is it?" asked Cindy, feeling like she was witnessing a resurrection.

Rex opened his good eye (the one that wasn't currently coated in sliver liquid) and sputtered, "I…th…think…I'm…g…gonna…"

"Gonna what?" asked Cindy, leaning in emotionally.

"I think…I'm…gonna…h…have…t…to…s…sk…skip…b…breakf…fast…"

With a light laugh of relief and happiness, Cindy brought her head down next to Rex and gave him a hug…at least, as much of a hug as she could manage in his condition.  "You're going to be okay," she whispered in his ear.

"S…swell…" said Rex.  "Now…b…be…a…dear…and…g…get…that…d…damn...piece…of…w…wood…out…of…m…my…ch…chest…"

At that moment, sitting atop the highest point of the Wild Kard Hotel, Dark Sonic surveyed the scene far below.  He shook his head in frustration as he shifted his seat on top of the radio tower.  He had witnessed the entire show, going back and forth between the casino and ballroom fights.  He had to admit, it was better than any movie fight he had ever seen.  He was amused to see Card Trick get KO'd in the casino and nearly busted out laughing when Courage realized he was behaving much like Rex.  Dark Sonic had waited for that moment for an eternity, it seemed.  The irony of it all.  However, when Courage defeated both Rex and Mecha Courage, Dark Sonic wasn't feeling so pleased.  Of course, he knew Rex was going to come back good as new, but still the fact that Courage was capable of doing the unthinkable surprised him nonetheless.

"Why is it," asked Dark to himself on top of the hotel, "that every time that dog is facing death, I always underestimate him?"  It didn't make him feel any better when he saw Courage emerge from the hotel still alive…although it was nice to see Sandy on the brink of survival.   

From his pocket, Dark Sonic suddenly revealed his list.  "I guess there's only one way to put this doggie to sleep."  
All the entries from ten to two were crossed out.  Only the number one choice was left:

FIND THE LAST EMERALD!   


	26. A New Plan of Attack

[A.N. Whew. Those last two chapters took a lot of creativity out of me and Chris…but we're back! And by the way, August 31st is the one-year anniversary of "Courage in Vegas'" debut!]

A New Plan of Attack

Sandy's acquisition of medical attention didn't exactly go according to plan.

When the ambulance arrived at the nearest Las Vegas hospital, the hospital attendant threw open the ambulance doors, took one look at Sandy, and stood frozen in disbelief. It looked like someone was playing a joke on him. A pink dog in a stretcher? Impossible! Before the attendant could fully comprehend what he was seeing, a skinny teenager coated in a fine layer of dust stood up next to the dog and shouted for him to get the animal into the hospital. Another pink female dog gazed at him sadly from the rear of the ambulance. A third pink dog, this one a male, stood up and nodded his head. A mix of negative emotions clouded his face.

Despite the odd details of the situation, the hospital attendant was unmoved. To Kevin and Courage's dismay, the attendant told them flat out that there was no possible way a "human" hospital would alleviate a dog or any other animal's injuries, no matter how serious they were. This sent the teen and the male dog into hysterics. Ten other hospital workers ended up in an extremely heated argument between themselves and Kevin and Courage. Finally, just before it looked like Kevin would resort to physical violence (Courage, in his condition, was being kept from attacking the workers only by Kevin grabbing onto the back of his neck), Kevin was told of a highly acclaimed animal hospital ten blocks down the road. As an act of gratitude, the hospital would let them go there in the ambulance. Kevin thanked them, but was still aggravated by the hospital's policy. Misty, who was quiet throughout the ordeal, just wanted to get to the animal hospital as soon as possible.

Five minutes later, a similar event took place in the exact same spot. This time, Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew were in the ambulance and nobody was seriously injured! The band asked where Courage, Kevin, Misty, and Sandy had gone, and the hospital told them they had gone to the animal hospital down the road. Joe didn't know how the mix-up could've occurred, but he nodded and politely asked if they could be dropped off at the animal hospital. Unfortunately, that same hospital attendant told them the ambulance was not a taxi and was needed back at the damaged hotel. Joe was about to start yelling, but the Krew talked him out of it. The band walked out to the street just in time to see two police cars pull up in front of them. Fortunately, it was only the former agents and Tortured Artist. The band informed them where Kevin had gone and somehow managed to squeeze into the police cars. After that, the cars headed down the road towards the animal hospital.

At the Las Vegas Southside Animal Hospital, Dr. Richard Dolby was just pulling into a vacant parking space. The 52-year-old veterinarian got out of his car and made his way over to the front door of the vet's office. He scratched at his mop of gray hair and double-checked to make sure he had his keys with him. Once inside the building, he glanced at the empty waiting room. He knew his first appointment was always at the same time the vet opened…9:00. Richard looked at his digital wristwatch. It was 8:22 AM.

"You're a little early today, aren't you, Rich?" asked the receptionist.

"Yes, Pam," admitted Richard. "I slept early last night. First time in weeks."

Pam smirked slightly. A black woman with slender features and thick eyeglasses, Pam was one of Richard's dearest friends. "Wish I could say the same."

"Maybe some music will snap you out of it," said Richard, pointing to the Samsung radio on Pam's desk.

As Pam snapped the radio on, Richard walked into his office. He took off his coat and was just about to put on his white veterinarian uniform when Pam called his name from up front.

Sighing, Richard walked over to Pam's desk. "Something wrong?"

"Sounds more like something's going on," said Pam nervously. Her attention was directed towards the radio. Instead of jazz music, a disk jockey was mentioning several areas of the Las Vegas that were being closed down and evacuated. Las Vegas International Airport was temporarily closed, and city officials were even considering evacuating several area hotels.

"Better turn on the TV, Rich," said Pam.

Richard nodded and headed for the coffee table in the middle of the waiting room. Sitting on a stack of magazines was the remote control for the lone television sitting up in one corner of the room. Richard turned it on and got one of the local stations. An emergency banner was gliding along the bottom of the screen as a helicopter view showed a lavish hotel that looked like a small explosion had gone off inside recently.

Before Richard could determine which hotel it was, a siren suddenly blared outside. From the sound of it, it was coming into the veterinary parking lot!

Richard ran to the door and threw it open. Outside, an ambulance was stopping just in front of the curb. Richard was no doubt surprised. This certainly wasn't the white veterinary van that usually transported injured animals to the vet!

The passenger and driver immediately hopped out of the vehicle, ran to the back and threw open the rear doors. Surprisingly, a dusty teenager hopped out, completely unharmed. The three of them began dragging a stretcher that carried a small pink dog. Two more pink dogs jumped out of the ambulance as well. Then, finally, two police cars screeched into the parking lot behind the ambulance and came to a stop.

Richard Dolby had never experienced anything like this in his 22 years as a veterinarian. Most likely, he thought, it must be because of that bombed building in town. Whatever the reason, Richard decided to take action immediately. He rushed over and asked one of the hospital workers what was going on.

The workers were clueless, but the teenager was talking frantically about his dog and how badly she needed help. Richard had to agree. The dog in the stretcher was in very bad shape.

Pam was dumbfounded. In a single minute of time, the animal hospital had gone from complete vacancy to ER chaos. Richard and two hospital officials rushed through the front door carrying a large stretcher with Sandy on it.

"Cancel my appointments!" was all Richard said to Pam before he headed towards one of the animal hospital's operating rooms.

Pam suddenly saw Kevin rush by. Instantly sticking to protocol, Pam raced over and blocked Kevin from the operating rooms. She sternly told Kevin it was standard procedure for all non-patients to wait in the waiting room. Kevin obviously didn't care about "standard procedures", but was forced to obey once one the hospital attendants and a policeman coming through the front door advised him to follow the order.

As Kevin made his way into the waiting room, a flood of people and dogs entered the front doors. For a horrifying moment, Pam thought the vet was being overrun by patients, but then she saw that they were all here merely for moral support.

"That pink dog must've had a lot of friends," said Pam to herself.

By now, a lot of confusion and frantic talking was going on, so Pam decided to calm things down. She shouted to get everyone's attention and the police officers shouted out loud too. Once everyone was quiet, Pam asked if everyone was here for that pink dog that just arrived. Everyone said yes. Pam nodded her head and simply told everyone to get comfortable in the waiting room until the vet was finished working on his patient. Reluctantly, everyone found a place to sit. The police officers asked Pam if she could take it from here. Pam nodded and the police officers left.

In the vet's operating room, the hospital workers asked Richard if he needed any assistance. Richard calmly shook his head and told them to tell Pam to call two more veterinarians to help him.

"I certainly can't do this alone," he said.

The hospital officials abruptly left the animal hospital with their stretcher, but not before giving the information to Pam. At once, she dialed the phone to call the other vets.

Richard finished putting on his surgeon's outfit. He stared at Sandy's body. Already he could see signs of fractured bones and internal bleeding. He had seen patients who were much worse than this, but all the precautions still had to be taken.

"Well, little one," said Richard as he washed his hands, "let's see how we can…" He paused to find the right word. "…Repair you." Richard smiled slightly. As a veterinarian, he had to be very careful about saying the word "fix" in front of his patients.

Back in the waiting room, the TV was still on, and coverage of the Wild Kard Hotel's explosion was still airing. Naturally, everyone's attention was focused on the screen, including Pam's. All the local channels were reporting the story as well as all the major news networks. After some debate, the TV stayed at channel three, a local station. For a while, everyone simply sat and stared at the screen as the helicopter slowly rotated around the hotel:

"In case you're just joining us," said the local station's anchorman, "you're looking at footage of a hotel in Las Vegas that has just been bombed, or at least some kind of explosion has just occurred less than an hour before now. We're still trying to receive word on which hotel it is, but it is just across the street from the Luxor, which as you know is very close to Las Vegas International. All flights have been cancelled until further notice and numerous emergency vehicles are on the scene. Currently we have no reports of any confirmed fatalities, although it's estimated that several of the injured have already been taken to nearby hospitals. Now, we have someone down on the scene, Mike Olsen, who can maybe provide us with some more information. Mike, are you there?"

The helicopter view switched to an elevated ground view. Some smoke was still drifting through the damaged windows, but the damage didn't look quite as bad. The camera zoomed into the hotel's main entrance sign. "Yes, Tom. Reading the sign above the front entrance, the hotel appears to be called 'The Wild Kard Hotel and Casino', which must be a brand new hotel because I've never heard of it before."

"M-hmm," agreed Tom. "In fact, I don't even remember there being a hotel in that location at all."

"That may be true, although in Vegas, you can never always tell. Anyway," continued Mike, "The magnitude of the blast was actually quite low, despite the damage you see around me. Nobody on the street or even on the sidewalks were seriously affected."

"Was the hotel even open at this time?" asked Tom.

"Actually, yes," answered Mike. "In fact, a musical performance took place here just two nights ago in the very building that was destroyed." In the waiting room, Joe stood up and smiled, expecting some sort of response. He didn't get any. "However, I'm getting word now that the hotel was virtually empty at the time of the blast. All the rooms were vacant, so it's extremely lucky that this hotel hasn't attracted many visitors yet."

"Well, it looks like it's a good thing there was nobody inside at the time of the explosion," said Tom.

"Actually," said Mike, "I'm getting numerous reports from various sources that tell me that people and animals were inside the building when rescue officials arrived. Fortunately, they were all evacuated."

Pam looked at the crowd in the waiting room and wondered if these were the people and animals the reporter was referring too. The dust coating their bodies instantly gave her the answer.

"I'm also getting a report," said Mike, "that a badly disintegrated body was spotted inside, but that hasn't been confirmed by anyone else yet."

"Gee, I wonder who that could be," said Kevin quietly to himself.

"That's all very nice, Mike," said Tom. "Thank you for providing us with that information."

"You're welcome, Tom."

The scene then changed to two windows. On the left was Tom, the anchorman. On the right was the helicopter footage again. "As you can imagine," said Tom, "the city of Las Vegas is currently in a state of panic and confusion. Emergency officials were already on scene at the Nammog Art Gallery where a similar explosion took place just two hours before the Wild Kard explosion."

Misty gasped. With all that had happened recently, she had forgotten about the other explosion...the one caused by Dark Sonic after he misled her into finding the third emerald earlier that morning. Misty knew Dark Sonic was to blame for that explosion, but she still didn't know why he wanted to go there in the first place. She also wanted to know what that horrible stone monster was that emerged out of the museum briefly before she ran off. Could Dark Sonic be responsible for the Wild Kard explosion too? Misty felt her mind start to spin.

"There's also speculation going on," said Tom, "that these two explosions could be related to yesterday's flash of light seen at the Stratosphere and the water malfunction at Wet 'n Wild. At first thought to be malfunctions, it's believed that the same person or persons responsible for those events could also be behind the Nommag and Wild Kard explosions. The identities of the people responsible are not yet known, but city officials say that the possibility of acts of terrorism haven't been disproved yet."

Courage's head suddenly snapped up. He had been battling Dark Sonic at the Stratosphere when the flash of light occurred. Courage couldn't remember if Dark was responsible for the Wet 'n Wild incident, but decided to assume that he was. Courage already knew he himself was responsible for the Wild Kard explosion, but at the moment he was more worried about the art museum explosion. If Dark was responsible for that too, then there was much more going on than Courage first realized. It almost seemed like Dark had some sort of different goal to achieve than Rex. Courage felt like exploring that option more, but at the moment, he just stared at the screen and watched the helicopter footage. The anchorman was going on about the possible evacuation of the entire downtown area and its harmful effects on the city's tourist economy.

At that moment, Misty suddenly realized that she hadn't told anyone that she had unknowingly helped Dark Sonic destroy the art museum! She gulped and glanced nervously at Kevin. If she was going to tell anybody about it, Kevin would be the first to know.

Kevin stared at the TV as if in a trance. For several minutes, all he could do was digest everything the anchorman was saying. It felt like a bad dream. To think he had been in the middle of that disaster area!

He felt a hand grip his shoulder. Kevin turned and saw Pam, who had come over to see him.

"Don't worry about your dog, kid," Pam said. "Dr. Dolby will fix her up good as new."

Kevin smiled weakly at the unfamiliar woman. Hoping she was referring to the word "fix" meaning "repair", Kevin turned back to the TV. All he could do now…all anybody could do now…was wait.

The wait was excruciating.

About half and hour had gone by before two other veterinarians arrived at the animal hospital. Both of them talked to Pam briefly before they entered the operating room with Dr. Dolby and Sandy.

Five minutes later, Jonathan and Chris volunteered to get breakfast for everyone. Fortunately, there was a Waffle House just down the road. The two came back with several bags of food, but no one felt like eating. Pam started going on about how even in times of crisis, one had to eat something, so everyone reluctantly digested the bags' contents.

Hours went by. By 11:30 AM, everyone's interest in the news broadcast had gradually diminished. At one point, investigators at the hotel found large pieces of metal fused with organic material around the site, but that only pushed the option of a bomb even more. Now, both the hotel and the art gallery were blocked by police tape and some of the debris had been cleared. Countless interviews and a press conference by the mayor went by. The mayor told everyone to remain calm and stay indoors. He was also confident that whoever was behind this would be stopped. He had no way of knowing that the only people who even knew what was really going on were cramped inside an animal hospital's waiting room.

The mood inside the waiting room by this point could've been described as uneasy restlessness. Everyone was dying to know what Courage and Sandy had gone through in the ballroom and what caused the explosion, but Courage didn't look like he was in any mood for an explanation.

During the wait, Pam came over and asked Courage if he needed any medical assistance. D.M. and Tortured Artist also wanted Courage to get his wounds patched up, but the pink dog surprisingly refused any kind of medical help until he was certain Sandy was okay. For the rest of the time, Courage sat coiled up in a ball and stared daggers at Psycho. The white-eyed canine sat in the extreme opposite corner of the waiting room, on top of an endtable. He stared right back at Courage, not moving a muscle. Everyone else kept watch on both of them to quell any uprisings that might occur. Fortunately, none did.

Misty thought about what she had heard in the ballroom…about Psycho saying Rex was his online friend…how Courage had reacted to that statement. Maybe Psycho just didn't know what Courage had been through. Misty didn't know much of what her brother had been through either, but she'd seen enough to see why Courage hated Rex as much as he did. Could Courage hate Psycho for being friends with his enemy?

It was a valid guess, but she figured she'd keep it to herself for now. She wanted to deal with her big brother on her own. Maybe Courage would be more open to his sister than anyone else…especially in these trying times.

Finally, at exactly 11:51 AM, Dr. Richard Dolby emerged from the operating room. He took off his stethoscope and draped it around his neck. He opened the door to the waiting room and was surprised to find so many people and dogs staring back at him. He looked at Pam momentarily, but she couldn't give any explanation. Richard briefly caught a glimpse of the TV screen. He still didn't know what was going on, but judging from everyone's expression, the TV was the least of their concerns.

"Which one of you is this dog's owner?" asked Richard.

All eyes turned to Kevin Henderson. The 18-year-old slowly got to his feet and walked over to the vet. His stomach felt like it was being crushed. He took a big gulp of nothing before he shakily asked, "How is she?"

The vet rubbed his forehead and abruptly said, "Well, she certainly has her share of injuries, but she'll be fine. Just a few fractured bones, a concussion, and some internal bleeding, but she's going to make a full recovery."

In that moment, the feeling of gloom inside the waiting room was instantly lifted. Sighs of relief, relaxed muscles, and even a clap or two occurred from nearly everyone in the room. Of course, nobody was more relieved than Kevin and Courage, both of whom nearly fell to the floor with relief.

"I'd like to keep your dog here overnight for observation if that's okay with you," said Dr. Dolby to Kevin. Kevin nodded his head dizzily as the vet kept talking. "It's a good thing you came here right away. Your parents would be proud."

Suddenly, Kevin's stomach dropped like a rock. He had forgotten to call his parents last night to tell them how things were going! Frantically, Kevin blurted, "Uh, yeah, um, I'd better call them right now. Is there a phone anywhere?"

"There's one in my office," said Richard. "Feel free to use that one."

Without a word, Kevin dashed off to the office.

The veterinarian looked back into the waiting room. His eyes suddenly landed on Courage. "I'm surprised that you were even able to come here on your own accord," said Richard. "You look pretty banged up. How about I help you with some of those injuries?"

To everyone's surprise, Courage sighed and got up. He walked slowly over to the vet. Until now, Courage's mind hadn't been totally focused on his body's pain. Now it felt like a crate of nails was pushing against him from all sides, even from the inside.

Courage strained to grab the vet's hand and was led over to the operating rooms. To his disappointment, he was led to an examination room where Sandy wasn't being held. He desperately wanted to see her, but his own injuries had to be dealt with first.

Dr. Richard Dolby's office door flew open. Kevin was almost shaking with worry. If his parents were watching TV, they would be worried sick about him. Kevin couldn't believe he could've forgotten to call them! Of course, considering everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, it was understandable.

Kevin located the phone on the fancy desk of Dr. Dolby. He snatched the phone up and dialed his home phone number. He expected his mother or father would answer…either of them gravely concerned, crying maybe.

His mother answered the phone, but to Kevin's surprise, her voice sounded happy and calm. "Hello?"

"H-hi…Mom?" asked Kevin.

"Hi, Kevin," said his mother joyfully. "Is everything all right?"

Kevin paused in disbelief. Amazingly, his family hadn't turned the TV on yet! The thought made Kevin a little better, but not by much. Since they were going to find out eventually, there was no use putting it off any longer.

"Mom," said Kevin, seriously, "haven't you even seen the TV yet?"

"No, why?" asked Diane Henderson. In the background, Kevin's sister Katie was telling Mom about something on TV. "Is something wrong?"

"Well," said Kevin, who figured Katie was going to show their mother exactly what was going on. Kevin decided to decrease some of the shock by beating Katie to the punch. "There's been a small explosion at the hotel. Don't worry, though, there weren't any injuries or anything."

"An explosion?" asked Diane, fearfully.

"It's on all the TV stations, Mom." Kevin's mind was racing by this point. "Fortunately, Sandy and I were nowhere near the blast, which was really small, in my opinion. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'll most likely be ending my vacation early to…"

"My god," murmured his mother. "It's on all the news channels."

"Yeah, I know."

"So you're coming home then?"

"Yeah. I think this vacation isn't really turning out to be as fun as I wanted it to be, so I'll be heading home as soon as I can."

"That's good, son."

"Of course, the car and all my stuff are still back at the hotel, so it could take some time, but don't worry, I'll be heading home before you know it."

"Just come home safely, Kevin. OK? How's Sandy?"

Kevin paused, wondering how to answer the question. "She's…just fine. A little shaken up, but she'll make a full recovery. Don't worry."

"OK, son. Where will you be in the meantime?"

"Well, the Luxor's right across the street. I'll probably spend my last day here, and head out tomorrow morning. Look, Mom, I gotta go now. I'll call later, I promise this time. Tell Dad the car's fine and tell Katie I'll be leaving tomorrow. Promise me you won't worry, OK?"

"…Just come home, son. We'll be waiting."

Kevin turned to where Sandy was being kept and prayed that she would recover by tomorrow. Fighting back tears, Kevin said good-bye and hung up the phone. He remembered his father telling him this vacation would make him become more of an adult. So why did he still feel the same as he did when he left?

"Now this may sting a bit," Dr. Dolby said, holding up a cotton swab.

Courage flinched and whined at the pain, but tuned it out. He was deep in thought about what he had done. So many questions remained unanswered. How was he going to tell his friends what he did? How could he live with himself? Did they already figure out that he was responsible for all that happened in there? Courage was almost glad that Sandy didn't know about how transformed he had become. More than anything, Courage wished he could go back to the way he was before he arrived in Vegas…happy and carefree in that cowardly kind of way. As the vet wrapped some gauze around his scalp, Courage wondered how long it would take for him to go back…if it was possible.

Kevin walked back into the waiting room. Everyone else was more or less preoccupied with something at the time. Pam was taking calls regarding Dr. Dolby's cancelled appointments. Jonathan was telling Joe and the Krew as much as he knew about Rex and Dark Sonic. The band, with the exception of Psycho, was perplexed by any new information regarding Rex and Dark Sonic. Psycho, being Rex's online buddy, had been told pretty much everything about him and Dark Sonic, and he continued to sit stubbornly in the corner of the room. Gina, who was closest to Psycho, wanted to comfort him, but she knew most of all whenever Psycho was in need of comfort or not, and this was definitely not one of those moments. She felt a tad miffed that Psycho had never told her everything about Rex and Dark Sonic, but she respected Psycho's privacy for too long to feel too much angst against him. RX, Daisy, and Humphrey huddled together hearing Rex's sordid tale, wondering how Jonathan knew so much information about him. Jonathan would only say that a surveillance tape explained it all.

Tortured Artist, meanwhile, was talking with Gareth, Chris, and Darkest Moon about what to do next. Tortured Artist motioned for Kevin to come on over, so he did. As Kevin sat down, Misty came up behind him. She decided she had to tell Kevin about Dark Sonic's deception as soon as she could.

"What's up?" asked Kevin.

"Well," said Tortured Artist. "Chris, Gareth, and D.M. told me about what's been going on with the Wild Kard, and I've been listening to Jonathan's descriptions of Rex and Dark Sonic. I'm now a lot more informed than before about what's going on."

"And what IS going on?" asked Kevin.

"Something big," said Tortured Artist. He leaned in slightly. "I first suspected something was up when I was at Wet 'n Wild. I was there during the explosion…I think I told you that already…but did I mention that some weird black guy showed me some creepy riddle before he went into the wave pool…and just before it exploded?"

Kevin's jaw dropped. Tortured Artist had met Dark Sonic! Misty was equally shocked too. The same thing happened to her just before the art museum exploded! Jonathan stopped talking and turned around in amazement.

"What did the riddle say?" asked Jonathan. "Can you remember?"

Tortured Artist strained to remember. "It was something to do with water and where some creature called the Leviathan was hiding. I told the black spiny dude to go look in the wave pool and before I knew it, a horrible sea creature rose out of the pool!"

Misty couldn't wait any longer. She tugged on Kevin's shirt. "Kevin?"

"Not now, Misty," said Kevin. He looked back to Tortured Artist, "So that's what caused the water explosion?"

"Yeah!" said Tortured Artist, aggressively. "I got water all over me!"

"Kevin," said Misty again, but Kevin ignored her.

"Tortured Artist, that was Dark Sonic," said Kevin, ecstatically. "He was in disguise to fool you into releasing that monster or whatever it was. I saw him just this morning…oh, how could I've been so stupid? … It was 5 AM…I was too tired to concentrate…"

Misty was frozen in fear, realizing the inevitable had almost arrived.

Kevin continued. "Dark Sonic asked me to go on a tour and…and he asked Misty if she could go with him and…"

Kevin stopped. All eyes were on Misty now. The poor dog began quivering, and her eyes began to water.

Kevin leaned over, his face in complete shock. "Did you let Dark Sonic…at the art museum…?"

A thump behind Misty caught everyone's attention. Misty turned around and gasped. Staring at her with a look of absolute astonishment was Courage. He looked a lot better now. Patches of gauze plastered his bruised body, and he had been given a good scrub-down. However, his eyes were bugged out and his jaw had dropped by the sudden realization that his own sister had been with Dark Sonic.

Misty couldn't take it anymore. With a loud wail, she broke down right there on the spot. She began babbling psychotically between sobs about how she had been tricked into helping Dark Sonic and how he'd used a riddle on her too, and she shouted every obscenity she could think of at Dark Sonic until her speech became complete gibberish. Whether it was familial sympathy or an attempt to make her stop crying, nobody knew. But once again to everyone's surprise, Courage suddenly walked over to Misty and wrapped his arms around her. Since his previous emotional outburst had been interrupted by the cyber-demon back at the hotel, now was as good as time as any for Courage to finally let all his emotion out.

For about five depressing minutes, the two canine siblings wept on the floor of the waiting room. Everyone else let the two dogs have their privacy and some even cried themselves to some degree. Even Psycho, like the rest of the Krew, who never knew any of their siblings, started feeling a little sympathetic towards Courage.

Finally, after everyone had calmed down (and after a box of tissues had been retrieved), Kevin dried his eyes and asked Misty to tell everyone exactly what had happened after she left the room with Dark Sonic. As Misty told her story, Kevin noticed that Courage looked much calmer now than in the hotel…that is, unless he was glancing at Psycho. Every time Courage looked over at Psycho, he returned to his cold, dark composure.

When Misty finished telling the story, Kevin looked at Jonathan, who was trying to accumulate all the facts.

"So," said Jonathan after a minute, "Dark Sonic showed a riddle to both Tortured Artist and Misty…"

"And me," said Courage.

Jonathan did a double take. "When?"

"When I confronted him at the Stratosphere."

"Hey, that's right!" said Kevin. "I don't think you ever told us what happened between you two up there."

Courage thought he had already, but he sighed and told everyone what happened at the Stratosphere.

When he was done, Jonathan whistled. "Well, it's obvious what's going on now."

"It is?" asked everyone.

"Sure!" answered Jonathan. "Dark Sonic is obviously using people and dogs…"

"With pure hearts," interrupted Psycho.

"Right," said Jonathan. "He's using pure-hearted people and dogs to solve these riddles so he can acquire something."

"Demons," said Psycho again.

Jonathan turned to Psycho. "How do you know all this?"

"Yeah," said Courage, angrily.

Psycho narrowed his eyes at Courage before explaining that Rex told him all about how Dark Sonic was a culmination of sixteen Dark emeralds. Apparently, there were still some emeralds missing.

"Emeralds!" yelled Tortured Artist suddenly. "I just remembered one of my riddle's lines said 'people's smiles will turn around once this next emerald is found.' Dark is searching for more of those Dark emeralds."

"Four, to be exact," said Gina.

Psycho, as well as everyone else, stared at her in amazement. "How'd you know that?"

Gina turned to Psycho. "Remember I said Dark Sonic contacted me for a while before we arrived here? One of the things he told me was that he was searching for four more emeralds so he could become 'Oblivion.'"

Nobody liked the sound of that. "What's that?" asked Jonathan.

"It's bad," said Gina. "Take the worst thing you can imagine and imagine something a hundred times worse than that," said Gina flatly.

"That bad?" asked D.M.

"Nope," said Gina. "Worse than that."

"And it doesn't look like we have much time left," said Jonathan. "According to Courage, Misty, and Tortured Artist's accounts, the bright light each one of them saw was probably Dark Sonic acquiring that demon's power. That means that there's only one demon left, and it's still hidden. Only another pure-hearted soul can decipher that final riddle, and I'd bet a million dollars that that soul is one of us."

Everyone looked at each other uneasily upon hearing that remark.

"So how do we stop him?" asked Gareth. "We don't even know what the final riddle is."

"And neither does Dark Sonic," said Jonathan. "And even if he did, there'd be no way for him to decipher it because he doesn't have a pure heart."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Chris said, "So we agree. We find and decipher the riddle before Dark Sonic gets to it first?"

"Well…" began Jonathan.

"Wait a minute," said RX. "What about Rex? He's not searching for the emeralds too, is he?"

"I doubt it," said Jonathan.

"Yeah," said Humphrey. "Besides, he's dead already, so we can just…"

"He's not dead," said Psycho flatly.

Humphrey whirled around wondering if he'd heard correctly. "Whaddya talkin' about? We saw his body…"

Psycho immediately explained how the nanobots in Rex's blood allowed him to repair himself.

"You mean, he's invincible?" asked Tortured Artist in amazement. "Are you sure?"

"I'm afraid it's true," said Courage, who launched into a brief description of his own about how that was possible. "If I know Rex, I'm positive we haven't seen the last of him."

Joe and the Krew actually felt a little relieved by that news. Courage, seeing their relief, shook his head in disgust. "If only they could've gone through what I've gone through…" Courage thought.

"Well," said Gareth, "if there's any chance to get some answers, now's our chance."

"Right," agreed Jonathan. "We need to talk to someone about the final riddle."

"But who?" asked Kevin. "Rex and Dark Sonic are too dangerous to confront, and that rabbit, Card Trick, is a lot more dangerous than he appears."

Almost immediately, Tortured Artist and the former agents looked at each other, as if they were thinking the same thought. "Cindy!" they all said at once.

"Who?!" asked Courage, Kevin, Misty, Joe, and the K9 Krew.

At once, Tortured Artist and the former agents told the others about the video of Rex and his therapist, Cindy, that they had seen last night. Everything from how Card Trick installed the camera to Rex's life story was mentioned. All the listeners were baffled. Rex undergoing therapy? The concept was almost impossible for Courage to believe, but by the end of the story, Courage wasn't surprised by what kind of "therapy" Rex was getting (sick as it was to imagine.)

"So you see," said Jonathan. "If we find Cindy, we could interrogate her, and maybe she'll tell us where the final emerald is."

"But how do we even know she's still at the hotel?" asked Kevin.

Jonathan stared at Kevin. "Given the relationship she already has with Rex, I doubt she's gone far. Still, there's only one way to find out for sure."

"Yeah," said Psycho, who finally hopped down to the floor. "I think we've done all we can do here at the vet. Maybe now we can finally end this and get back onto our concert dates."

"OH NO!" shouted Joe. "Our concerts! This is gonna mess up our whole schedule! Aw, Allen's gonna kill us!"

"Relax, Joe," said Psycho, heading for the door. "Our next gig isn't for three days. We've got plenty of time. And as for Allen, well, he could use some time off. Now, c'mon, the sooner we get back to the hotel, the sooner we can end this whole…thing. Last one to the Wild Kard's a rotten egg!" With that, Psycho walked slowly out of the vet.

Kevin glanced at Courage, who looked very annoyed with Psycho's tone.

"He's just doing that to piss you off," Kevin told Courage. He then stared at Joe and said, "I guess the name kinda suits him."

"Tell me about it," answered Joe.

Kevin walked over to Pam behind the front desk. Pam had only been half-listening to everything going on in the waiting room, but since it wasn't any of her business, she'd tuned most of it out. She looked up at Kevin, who said to her, "I'll be back later today to check on Sandy, OK?"

Pam nodded her head. Kevin took one last look at the room where Sandy was lying before he turned and headed out the door.

Everyone else followed suit. They all thanked Pam and Dr. Richard Dolby before leaving.

"Hey, what time is it?" asked Tortured Artist, who was the last one out of the building.

Jonathan looked at his clock. "It's 1:22 PM."

"Whoa, no wonder I'm so hungry!" said Tortured Artist. "Maybe we should all get a bite to eat before we go back to the hotel."

"Good idea," said Jonathan. He turned to everyone and offered the suggestion. Thankfully, everyone agreed.

* * *

Back at the Wild Kard Hotel, Card Trick stomped angrily down a hallway near the top floor. He had successfully avoided any contact from any rescue workers or investigators. He too had heard the giant explosion in the ballroom and had gone to check it out. Card Trick saw Cindy drag Rex out of the melee and bring him up to his room on the top floor using the only working elevator. Taking the stairs, Card Trick had followed them and was now fast approaching their door.

When Card Trick reached the door, he threw it open and angrily shouted, "ALRIGHT!! Where's Dark Sonic?!! I demand to…whoa, Rex? You don't look so good."

Rex was draped over the bed. He still was in horrible shape, but looked better than before. The nanobots were still working their technological magic. At his side was Cindy, who was rather flustered by Card Trick's intrusion.

"Y…You're looking for Dark, huh?" muttered Rex.

"Yeah," said CT, glumly. "His so-called 'fun', isn't exactly my cup of tea, and I plan to tell that to his big, smug face."

"I wouldn't do th-that if I…" began Rex.

"Let me worry about that, OK, William?" said CT, using Rex's other name. "Now where is he?"

"Probably down in the security room, Max," said Rex, using the special name he always used for Card Trick. "That's where…I'd be." Rex coughed loudly.

"Thanks, buddy," said Card Trick, who turned around and ran out of the room.

A few minutes went by before Cindy said, "It's a good thing everybody's downstairs searching around the ballroom. They think the rest of the hotel is empty."

"Yeah," said Rex. "After searching 22 floors, you'd be too tired to go searching around the top floor too."

A couple more minutes went by before Cindy finally asked, "What makes you think Dark's in the security room?"

Rex's gaze traveled to somewhere on a nearby wall, and he frowned. "Call it a hunch."

Cindy looked to where Rex was looking and gasped.

Clamped to the near corner of the room, aimed directly at Rex on the bed, was a small black security camera.

Cindy got to feet and rushed over to the camera. She got on the nearby drawers and looked at the side of the camera. The name "LUXOR" was printed on the side.

(Now Cindy thinks someone at the Luxor is spying on them, when actually Card Trick was the one who installed the camera [as mentioned in the "Wet 'n Wild" chapter]. What wasn't mentioned was that Card Trick had stolen one of the Luxor's cameras and installed it in the room to throw anyone off the trail.)

In the security room, Dark Sonic spit out the cup of coffee he was drinking. Cindy's angry face briefly appeared on the screen before she cut the transmission. The screen turned to static.

"Not my fault!" yelled Dark Sonic to nobody. He was right too. Dark had come down into the security room two hours ago. He had wanted to take a break before focusing his efforts on finding the fourth and final Dark emerald. Dark laughed as he'd watched all the rescue workers running around. Ten of the cameras had been destroyed in the blast so ten screens were blank. Dark was especially amused to find the hidden camera in Rex's room and had wondered why he didn't think of installing it before.

Dark got up from his seat and headed for the exit. He was trying to figure out whether it was Chris or Card Trick who'd installed the camera in the first place.

When Dark opened the door, the answer was staring him in the face.

"Not so fast, 'buddy'," said a very mad Card Trick. "I think it's time you and I had a little chat."


	27. Cindy's Interrogation

Cindy's Interrogation

Dark Sonic stared at Card Trick in the doorway of the security room. The rabbit appeared to be fuming, and the lighting from behind gave him a surprisingly sinister aura. However, Dark was unraveled by whatever Card Trick was mad about. Dark smiled and crossed his arms in a smug manner that angered Card Trick even more.

"A little chat, huh?" said Dark, echoing Card Trick's words. "Fine." Dark turned around and looked at the TV where the footage of Rex's room used to show. "I take it you were the one who put that camera in Rex's room, huh? You little perv, you." He grinned.

Card Trick frowned. "It's not what you think. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't stashing funds from my casino."

Stalling for time, Dark added, "Where'd you get the camera? I don't think it was one of ours."

"From the Luxor, okay?" uttered Card Trick through gritted teeth. "Can we get on with this? I've come down here to say something that I've wanted to say to you all day."

"You think that's a good idea?" asked Dark. "Don't you even listen to Rex?" He chuckled slightly. "Really, you don't know who you're talkin' to, kid."

"I know exactly who I'm talkin' to, asshole!" muttered Card Trick as he advanced into the room. Dark Sonic maneuvered off to the side as Card Trick kept talking. "Let's get one thing straight! I do not like being lied to and conned into doing somebody else's dirty work. I don't intend to play your sick, little games anymore! I didn't take this job just to kill people, okay? I just wanted to have some good, clean fun."

"Are you sure that's all you wanted?" added Dark, who was getting more and more pissed by Card Trick's tone.

Card Trick sighed angrily. "No, of course not! This is Vegas, for cryin' out loud! Sin City! I wanted some of what this city had to offer. The money, the prestige, the opportunity!"

"And the women too, I imagine," added Dark, knowing that comment would really annoy his adversary.

Card Trick narrowed his eyes, and his ear wilted down behind his head. "Look, the bottom line is, I refuse to be a pawn in your little game. Awright?!"

Dark Sonic simply stared straight back at him, not moving a muscle. The light from the wall of security screens illuminated half of his body in a very "film noir" kind of way. Finally, all he said was, "Very well." He then turned and walked slowly out of the room.

Card Trick immediately felt uneasy about Dark's action. Ever since he had become friends with Rex, he had always been told of Dark Sonic's short fuse. Rex had told him tales of how destructive Dark could become whenever he was confronted. Even as he was yelling at Dark, Card Trick's mind had been telling him that this meeting was a bad idea. Yet, the demon seemed to be taking this better than he'd thought.

Feeling a second wind coming on, Card Trick headed for the door, shouting, "Hey, get back here! I'm through with you ye-…HEY!!"

Instantly, Dark's two henchmen, Phanto and Jester, grabbed Card Trick's arms and carried him back into the security room. They positioned themselves so that Card Trick's back was facing the wall of television screens. Dark Sonic suddenly entered the room with an unhappy look on his face. He stopped right in front of the struggling rabbit, who began to regret coming down here.

Dark flashed Card Trick an evil grin. "What's wrong, Bugs?" he taunted. "Ran out of carrots?"

Card Trick immediately stopped struggling and stared at Dark, this time with a look of confusion. He didn't know why that comment enraged him, but Card Trick suddenly blurted, "Ran out of carrots?! C'mon, your thugs have rendered me helpless and the best line you can come up with is, 'What's wrong, Bugs, ran out of carrots'? I mean, what the f-…?"

In the blink of an eye, Dark's hand darted outwards and grabbed onto Card Trick's throat, ending the rabbit's rant.

"You want a better line?" asked Dark, his voice deepening. His eyes began glowing with a greater intensity than before. "How's this? There's more to Vegas than just glitz and glamour. I'm after something that goes far beyond your pathetic understanding. You wanna keep being friends with Rex? Fine, but your cooperation in my affairs has ended."

Then, the Card Trick's horror, Dark Sonic's face began to disintegrate. His skin slowly melted and flames began to appear within the confines of his own head! The entire room began to glow in a frightening red tone as Dark's entire head morphed into a disgusting flaming skull. His eyes glared straight into Card Trick's petrified face as his teeth were stretched into a permanent grin.

"I don't need you anymore," said Dark in a voice that sounded like Hell itself.

Then, before Card Trick could even scream, let alone gasp in fright, Phanto and Jester released their grip on his arms. Dark, who was still holding onto Card Trick's neck, pulled his arm back and threw the rabbit into the wall of television screens with supernatural force. Card Trick smashed into the wall so hard that every single TV screen shattered into miniscule shards of glass, while sparks and bolts of electricity created spilt-second webs around the room and Card Trick's body. He remained frozen in the wall for several seconds before he finally slid off and fell to the floor. The only light in the room now was from Dark Sonic's eyes.

Dark Sonic, whose head was now back to normal, motioned for Jester to check and see if Card Trick was still alive. Jester checked and motioned that he was. Dark nodded, feeling a little glad he was still alive. Rex would probably throw a major fit if he'd discovered one of his friends was dead.

Nevertheless, Dark let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm too close to risk getting cocky." He stared at Phanto. "I may be one emerald away, but I'm sure the goody squad has caught on to my involvement after the ballroom incident. So now I got two things to do before I score the last Emerald."

Dark produced his list with two new items scribbled on it.

The first read: "Get rid of press and rescue workers, repair ballroom, and erase any suspicion". The second read: "Pay Sandy a 'visit' to emotionally unsettle the good guys from intruding any further".

Dark liked option two, but figured it best to take care of the first one, since he was already at the hotel. Dark looked up at the ceiling. Not too far away, on the next floor up, he could hear people still looking around the ballroom.

"The trick, of course," said Dark, "will be to do it in a way that's not too overly dramatic. After all, all the TV networks are aiming at this hotel, and any 'freakish monster' that shows up would only complicate my search for the last Emerald."

Dark thought for a moment or two. Then he smiled as an idea suddenly came to mind. He turned to Phanto and Jester. "You two. Take that rabbit and throw him in the closet with Allen."

The two demons looked at each other and then back at Dark Sonic, confused.

Dark sighed again. "The closet's just down the hall to the right. There's a guy already in there, but just throw Card Trick in and lock the door. Then, I want you two to get some disguises, exit out the back way, and double back to the Luxor. Make sure nobody sees you. I want you two to keep an eye on Cindy, since she's probably on her way over there to return the camera. Take these." Dark handed Phanto and Jester two walkie-talkies. "If you see Courage or any of the other good guys, let me know."

The two demons nodded. Then, they carried the unconscious Card Trick out the door and down the hall towards the closet.

Dark suddenly snapped his head upward. He could hear footsteps racing about. It sounded like they were searching all the hotel rooms for survivors. Dark knew they'd get a big surprise if they reached Rex's room. He was probably recovered enough now to still be lethal.

Dark headed for the stairs, a smile stretching across his face.

In an alley next to the Wild Kard Casino, a door opened. Dressed in a trenchcoat, Cindy checked to make sure no one was there. Since the ballroom was way over on the other end of the hotel and everyone was occupying that area, the coast was clear. With the security camera in her pocket, Cindy sprinted out the door, keeping the tall collar up by her face.

When she reached the sidewalk, there was still quite a crowd on the street. People rushing past, vehicles situated everywhere, and police tape littered the scene. It was easy for Cindy to slip into the massive crowd of people and make her way over to the Luxor. It seemed to take forever to make it to the front doors of the Luxor, but somehow she managed to find her way to them.

She opened the doors and was faced with a surprisingly crowded hotel lobby. Hotel patrons and total strangers were talking about the explosion and watching TV. For a moment, Cindy stared at the screen and observed people talking on their cell phones and chatting to one another. She could understand how nervous and scared some of them were. Nobody could've suspected something like could happen in Vegas.

She could've started feeling sorry for herself eventually, but the weight in her pocket reminded her of why she came over here to begin with. She quickly made her way over to the lobby, which was filled with lobbyists instructing people where to go and what to do.

Cindy reached out and grabbed a lobbyist by the arm. "Excuse me," said Cindy, "but I found this camera in my hotel room and figured you'd want it back."

The lobbyist, whose name was Steve, looked at the security camera with "LUXOR" printed on the side. He leaned behind him and whispered something to a guy who was on a computer. The technician typed something on the screen, observed it for a moment and nodded his head at the lobbyist.

Turning back to Cindy, the Steve said, "Well, our records do show a security camera that's been unaccounted for." Steve grabbed the camera from Cindy's grasp. "This must be the missing camera. Thank you very much. We'll be sure to…"

"Not so fast," interrupted Cindy. "This camera was installed in my hotel room."

Steve frowned. "It's against hotel policy to place cameras in hotel rooms. Why don't you come with me so that you can explain what happened?"

Seeing no other option, Cindy was led into a small room in the back of the lobby. Cindy didn't feel threatened. Steve seemed kind and concerned only about the camera. However, she knew she couldn't tell him she came from the Wild Kard Hotel across the street. That would only make Steve more suspicious. Maybe he'd even call in the authorities. Cindy knew she had to tell him she came from a different hotel.

Cindy sat down in a chair, ready to tell the lobbyist her story, as Steve shut the door.

The clock on the wall chimed 2:30 PM.

At that moment, Kevin and the others began to approach the Luxor complex. Other than a brief stop for lunch, they had all walked the entire trip from the vet to the Luxor. All the bus and taxi services had been ordered to close due to the Wild Kard explosion. With every block they passed, traffic and pedestrians became more and more abundant. By the time they all reached the block where the hotel was located, a large group of people were standing around. It appeared as though the news vans, emergency vehicles, police tape and barricades hadn't moved since this morning.

Kevin looked to one side and noticed a gap between two barriers. He walked over to it and was quickly confronted by a police officer, who sternly asked Kevin where he was going.

Before Kevin could answer, a voice behind him said, "He's with us."

Kevin turned around and saw Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, and D.M. staring at the officer.

The officer said, "Very well. You can go."

It took a few moments for Kevin to realize that the officer had noticed the Luxor uniforms that the former agents were wearing. The officer must've been allowed to admit surrounding hotel employees into the damage area.

As Kevin and the former agents walked by, Jonathan said, "Oh, they're all with us too."

The officer did a double take as he saw Tortured Artist, Courage, Misty, Joe, and the K9 Krew approach the gap. As they walked past, the officer turned to Jonathan and asked, "Weren't you all here a while ago, like, just after the blast?"

"No, I'm sorry, sir," said Jonathan quickly. "That must've been someone else." He abruptly turned and walked quickly after the others.

The main lobby of the Luxor Hotel and Casino was located several hundred feet away from the street. Kevin and the others felt like the lobby was much farther away as they advanced towards the building.

When they finally entered the front doors, the lobby was in utter mayhem. Until several minutes ago, no one was allowed back into their rooms until everything was clear. Now, people were rushing by, their luggage in hand, making for the exits.

"I guess you guys won't have trouble finding a room," Jonathan said to the others.

It was true. It didn't take long before everyone left. Except for a handful of people who were convinced the worst was over, all of the Luxor's tenants had left.

"So," said Kevin, turning to everybody else. "Which rooms do you all want?"

Not surprisingly, they all agreed to find a room on the ground floor, but since there weren't any, they settled for rooms on the first floor.

As they settled into their new rooms, some of them asked if it was going to cost anything. Fortunately, they were on the house, thanks to the former agents. As Chris had said, "I doubt anyone will really care, given what's been going on around here."

And so they stayed. Kevin, Courage, and Misty took one room. Tortured Artist and Joe shared the room next door. Psycho, RX, and Humphrey took one room, while Gina and Daisy took another. D.M. wanted one too, but Jonathan reminded her they were still on duty.

"After all," Jonathan said to D.M., Gareth, and Chris. "We're all still wearing our uniforms."

Gareth looked annoyed. "What kind of sense is that?"

"Yeah," said D.M. "We can just take them off, y'know."

"Can't we take a break or go home or something?" asked Chris.

"And what," snapped Jonathan. "Leave everyone here? C'mon, you all know as well as I do that we need to stay by Kevin and Courage and all the others. We're their friends! It's the least we can do!"

The others paused. Finally, Chris said, "Sorry, Johnny. It's just that…"

"We haven't slept in hours, and…" whined Gareth.

"We just want all this to end," said D.M. stressfully.

Jonathan looked at all three of them. He was so thankful to have these three people with him now. They had been through so much together. Through obstacles of the natural and supernatural, they had passed the point of mere friendship. They were like family now…something Jonathan never really had.

"This will end," said Jonathan. "I don't know how, but I promise each and every one of you. This will end."

D.M. looked at Chris, who looked at Gareth. Each one of them wished for Joe's words to be true.

"Now c'mon," said Jonathan. "If you're all that tired, we can take a quick nap down in the lounge. I doubt any of our co-workers will have time to yell at us."

Inside every occupied room on the first floor, the occupants were in states of either shock or exhaustion. In Gina and Daisy's room, both of them had fallen straight to sleep, wishing this was all a horrible dream. In Psycho, RX, and Humphrey's room, Psycho was taking a shower while Humphrey watched the continuing coverage of the Wild Kard cleanup on TV. RX had fallen asleep on the bed. In Tortured Artist's room, Tortured Artist was simultaneously watching TV and waiting for Joe to get off the phone. Both of them had decided to call their families. Tortured Artist was surprised to see Joe break into tears as he talked to his father, and he had a feeling he would do the same thing to his.

In Kevin's room, Kevin had crashed on the far bed, muttering to himself. Misty wandered over and listened to Kevin's muttering. He was actually mumbling prayers to himself for Sandy to be okay. Misty turned to look at Courage, who was sitting on the opposite bed.

He was looking at the wall and appeared to be deep in thought. Misty thought it best if she didn't say anything. She hopped up onto the bed and hugged Kevin.

Kevin gave Misty a squeeze. Once again, he noticed how similar Courage's little sister was to Sandy. But to Kevin, Sandy was far different.

Kevin briefly flashed back to that fateful day.

He was thirteen at the time. Summer had just started, and Kevin's parents asked him if he'd like to go to the animal shelter. Their previous dog had been put to sleep four months ago, and ever since, the Hendersons felt like a gap needed to be filled in again. So the Hendersons arrived at the pound and went to see the dogs that were up for adoption. Kevin had broken away from his family and traveled to the other end of the facility. Along the way, dogs of all kinds wandered up to the door and barked at him.

Kevin had almost reached the end of the hallway when he suddenly stopped. A small pink puppy was staring back at him. She wasn't barking wildly or walking all over the place impatiently. This pink dog was standing perfectly still and eyeing Kevin with an expression that was hard to define. Kevin leaned over and stared intently at the puppy. The puppy stared back at him.

Almost at once, Kevin felt a strange sensation deep within him. It was almost as if two separate minds were intersecting…connecting along invisible circuits. Kevin knew this puppy and himself belonged together. An unexplained mutualistic relationship.

It didn't take much effort to convince the rest of his family to adopt this puppy…especially once they found out she was going to be put to sleep later that same day! From the moment the puppy stepped out of her cage, Kevin held her in his arms and wouldn't let go until they got home.

When they got home, they gave the puppy a bath. Then, as the Hendersons tried to find a name for her, she ran out back and leaped into little Katie's sandbox. She rolled around and around in the sand and looked like she was having a really good time.

That was how the puppy's name became Sandy.

As Kevin took his brief trip down memory lane, Rex was still lying on his bed at the Wild Kard recovering. He was looking much better now, but he estimated he was still at about 75 health. All his internal organs were more or less functioning and his skin was starting to go back to its original color. His burnt hair was about the only thing that wasn't going to get fixed by the nanobots in his blood.

Cindy had left his room about half an hour ago. Since then, Rex had been deep in thought trying to figure out what went wrong. His memory was slightly blurred, but he remembered most of the important parts…the cyber-demon beating up Courage…Courage slamming the robot into him…the robot exploding…Courage ramming the stake into his chest. After that, the next thought was of Cindy weeping over him. Rex wondered how much time had passed and what went on between those last two memories.

Of course, Rex couldn't help but smirk when his thoughts landed on Courage. He had transformed into everything Rex had become. His only concern now was that Courage's rage wasn't going to last long, especially in the presence of all his friends. Rex also wondered what happened to Courage's girlfriend, Sandy. He'd last seen her lying unconscious behind some tables in the ballroom. Rex grinned. He wondered if that dog had…

Suddenly, Rex's grin faded. His eyes caught sight of some smoke drifting past his penthouse window. It took a lot of effort for Rex to lift himself off the bed and drag himself to the window. What he saw was not pleasing: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, and a crowd of people looking at the ballroom. From his position, Rex could see the vacant windows of the ballroom and debris all over the area.

"Dammit, Dark," muttered Rex to himself. "You'd better not be blowin' holes in my hotel."

Seeing enough, Rex wandered back over to his bed, feeling tired. He hadn't had much sleep last night (obviously), and he was still recovering. Still, Rex jokingly told himself to "pull himself together" and lay back on the bed. He stayed there for about five minutes, trying to force himself to take a nap.

Just then, Rex heard a crash outside his door. His head snapped to the door, and he hobbled over to investigate. Putting his ear to the door, he realized that somebody was kicking in the doors in the hallway for inspection, probably the police. Since Rex knew there was no way some cops were gonna drag him away, he reached for his metal arm and activated it.

To his horror, Rex discovered all his ammo was gone!

Rex struggled to contain his rage. He just knew Courage had something to do with it. By now, the cops were nearly at his door. Rex smiled, as he knew that he didn't need weapons to take out some clueless policemen. Rex lifted his tail, ready to send it flying.

But just before the officers kicked in the door, the cop's walkie-talkie started screaming to evacuate the building immediately...something about a "5-11" or some kind of number code. Without argue, the cops ran down the hall toward the nearest exit.

Rex hung his head. He kinda wanted to slash some stomachs with his tail. Grumbling to himself, he got back into bed. His body continued to slowly improve its stature…just like Imhotep from "The Mummy", Rex thought. The Egyptian-style thoughts made him stare out the window. He could catch a glimpse of the very top of the Luxor pyramid through his window. And maybe it was just his imagination, but Rex swore he could see someone standing on the very top of the pyramid!

Sighing, Rex rolled over and tried to figure out where the heck Dark Sonic was right now.

Back at the Luxor, Kevin finished his daydream and somehow found enough strength to sit up in bed. Misty was starting to nod off and Courage was lying on his back on the other bed. After a moment of silence, Kevin finally asked Courage a question he'd wanted to ask since the Wild Kard explosion.

"What happened back there?"

"Where?" asked Courage.

"In the ballroom. You never got around to telling us what caused the explosion."

Courage sighed. He didn't want to hurt Kevin any more by telling him it was his fault. But he knew keeping it a secret wasn't doing any better.

Misty opened her eyes and lifted her head. She suddenly saw her chance to ask Courage herself. She wandered over to Courage and whispered something into her brother's ear. He nodded and turned to Kevin.

"I'm going to talk to Misty," said Courage. "Maybe she can tell you better than I can."

Kevin's shoulders slumped, but he didn't want to argue. Kevin got to his feet and walked into the bathroom.

"So, what happened in there?" Misty asked once Kevin closed the door.

Courage sighed again and began to tell his sister the events that took place in the Wild Kard ballroom. He mixed in a brief history of Mecha Courage and what new additions he had received, as well as the unthinkable he had done to Rex.

"You killed him?" Misty asked, who temporarily forgot about Rex's regenerative ability.

"I…I tried to," muttered Courage sadly. "The fact is…even though he's still alive, I have to live with the fact that I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to die." Courage looked down at the bedsheets to avoid Misty's stare. "I'm just like Rex now. I just couldn't take it anymore. The way he laughed at my pain. I don't know what triggered it, but I don't want it to happen again. It's a part of me now."

Misty didn't know what to say. She reached out and placed her paw on his shoulder.

Just then, a loud, blaring horn was heard in the distance.

Gina and Daisy immediately woke up. They jumped down to the floor and headed for the window. Humphrey yelled at Psycho to get out of the bathroom. As the bewildered canine ran out of the room with a towel wrapped around himself, RX and Humphrey were already looking back and forth between the TV and the window. Tortured Artist and Joe stared at the TV in shock at what they saw going on across the street.

"Kevin?!" shouted Misty as Courage bolted to the window. Kevin threw open the door and looked for the remote control. Once he found it, he held it to the TV, but he didn't turn it on. Courage had thrown the window open. A wave of screams could be heard coming in the direction of the Wild Kard. Kevin dropped the remote and ran to the window. He squeezed between Courage and Misty and gazed into the distance.

From this position, Kevin could see a decent view of the damaged ballroom's façade off in the distance. Throngs of people, including rescue workers, reporters, and onlookers were running in terror from the Wild Kard. Their screams cut through the air like a knife.

"Dark Sonic," Kevin muttered to himself.

Courage and Misty gulped. For a horrible moment, it looked as though Dark Sonic had found the last emerald. However, there didn't seem to be anything too apocalyptic happening around the area. No resurrected demons or anything like that. So what was going on?

"Kevin, look!" said Misty. She had found the remote and turned on the TV. Kevin and Courage rushed to the screen. The helicopter view was still showing the Wild Kard, except now it had backed off considerably. The banner along the bottom of the screen flashed a grave announcement:

"GAS LEAK DETECTED. MANDATORY EVACUATION IMMINENT."

That was good news. Still, even though it didn't sound like his style, there was a small chance Dark Sonic could've been behind it. After all, according to the report, the leak was "abnormally large in size", and all people within a ten-city-block area were ordered to evacuate.

So why was he scaring off these people?

Dark Sonic stood in the rear of the ballroom, dusting his hands off and laughing at his handy work. Sure, it was a lame attempt to get rid of everybody, but it worked. He had stood in a secluded area and had resurrected the gas mains that ran under the building. The pipes had slowly poked up out of the ground, releasing the gas. People immediately began choking and gasping for air. No wonder they had all cleared out so fast, considering the possibility that the gas could ignite.

But Dark knew how to take care of that. He took a deep breath and blew as hard as he could, the gas in his lungs feeling quite soothing. Once he created a small clearing from the fumes, he looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Then, he quickly began to spin around and around, Tazmanian devil style. Within minutes, the gas dissipated.

Dark Sonic stopped spinning and waited for the dizziness to pass. After he regained his composure, Dark grinned to himself. The entire area was deserted.

"Now to pay someone a little visit," Dark said, eager to get to the animal hospital. He vanished in a plume of smoke and laughed all the way.

Kevin, Misty, and Courage rushed out the door. In the hallway, Tortured Artist, Joe, and the K9 Krew stopped their excited chatter and stared at them.

Before they could say anything, Kevin said, "Where's Jonathan and the others?"

"They're down in the lobby, I think," said Tortured Artist.

Without a word, Kevin turned and headed for the stairs. He threw open the door, ran down the single flight of stairs to the ground floor and threw the door open. He raced into the lobby, ran past the front desk, and spotted the former agents watching the TV coverage with obvious concern. Kevin called out, and the former agents turned to see Kevin running towards them…with everybody else directly behind him in a single file line.

"Did you see it?!" shouted Kevin.

"We saw the whole thing!" said Jonathan in a worried voice. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Kevin said. "But it's not good."

"You'd think they'd be able to control a gas leak," Tortured Artist said.

"Not one that size!" answered Gareth.

"Maybe we should go over there." Chris suggested.

Everyone else looked at Chris like he was nuts.

"Well…it was worth a shot," Chris mumbled.

"It's far too dangerous right now, you know that," said Jonathan to Chris. "There's only one person that can answer our questions. We've got to find this 'Cindy'." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"But where is this therapist?" asked Kevin. "She could be anywhere by now!"

At that moment, Chris's jaw fell open as he stared at something behind Kevin. Chris had been the only one watching the video of Cindy and Rex. Therefore, he was the only one who knew what Cindy looked like. Chris lifted his arm and pointed at something behind Kevin. "Actually…she's right over there."

Kevin whirled around and spotted her. It was kind of hard not too. The half-fox/half raccoon was exiting a room on the other side of the lobby. She was talking to a Luxor employee who was carrying a security camera in his hand.

"Thanks for listening to my story," Cindy said to the employee.

"No problem," said Steve, the employee. "Just be sure to inform me if this happens again, alright?"

Before Cindy could answer, a voice on the opposite side of the room shouted, "There she is! Get her!"

Cindy turned quickly to the source of the voice. To her astonishment, a mob of humans and dogs were running straight for her! Not knowing what else to do, Cindy did what anybody would do if a mob was heading straight for you. She ran.

She raced down a hallway, took a right turn, ran some more, and came to a door with a staircase sign on it. Horrified, she turned around and saw the mob turning the corner and heading straight for her. She had no clue what these people wanted, but they looked intent on apprehending her. She threw open the door and ran up the spiral staircase.

Kevin was the first one to the door, but Jonathan stopped him. "She's getting away!" shouted Kevin.

"No she's not!" answered Jonathan. "That staircase only goes to one place…somewhere where Cindy will only have option left to go."

"Where?" asked Kevin.

"You'll see," said Jonathan. "Now listen, I want you to take all the dogs with you and follow Cindy. The rest of us will be waiting for her at the bottom. Now go."

Kevin was about to ask, "The bottom of what?" but Jonathan shoved him up the staircase. Misty followed suit.

"Do we have to go too?" Psycho whined, but Joe ordered him to go. The rest of the Krew had already gone inside. Psycho and Courage ran for the stairs at the same time. They both struggled to be the first one up the stairs and probably would've been at it all day if Misty hadn't shoved Courage up the stairs. Psycho briefly glared at Misty before he ran after Courage.

Jonathan turned to Tortured Artist, Joe, and the rest of the former agents. "Everyone, follow me!"

"Where are we going?" asked D.M.

"To the bottom of the pyramid," said Jonathan.

By the time Cindy reached the top of the stairs, she was gasping for air. Cindy was fairly athletic. She had taken yoga and martial arts classes before going into the field of medicine. But running up all those flights of stairs was very strenuous. It seemed like forever before she reached a single unmarked door. Hearing footsteps behind her, Cindy grabbed the doorknob and ran opened the door.

A gust of wind immediately slammed into Cindy. She looked around and was alarmed to find herself standing on a ledge over a hundred feet in the air. Only a small guardrail kept her from going over the edge. Cindy looked around. The wall behind her was black glass and traveled all the way down to the ground at an angle. The glass converged to a large flat surface ten feet above and behind her. Suddenly, Cindy realized where she was.

She was standing on the top of the Luxor Pyramid.

"Hey, you!" said a voice inside the pyramid. Cindy looked through the door and saw a teenager with his hand extended towards her. "Come back!"

Frightfully, Cindy knew she had only one place left to go. Kevin shouted to stop her, but it was too late. She slipped under the guardrail, hesitated slightly, and let go.

Kevin ran over and peeked over the edge. He saw Cindy sliding on her back down the steep glass incline at a surprisingly fast speed.

Courage, Misty, and the K9 Krew emerged onto the balcony; amazed that Cindy had given them the slip.

"What now?" asked Psycho.

Kevin looked at him. "I'm still going after her. Anybody else who wants to follow me, feel free." Then, Kevin swung beneath the railing, took a deep breath, and let go. All the dogs looked over the side and watched Kevin slide down the pyramid after Cindy.

Having to time to think, Courage was the next one who was sliding down the pyramid, followed closely by Psycho and Humphrey. RX looked at Misty, Gina, and Daisy. The girls looked really hesitant.

"C'mon, it's just like a big slide!" said RX in an attempt to calm them down. Then, RX became the next one to go sliding down to the ground.

It took a few more seconds, but the girls mustered enough courage to follow everyone else down the pyramid.

Cindy was going too fast to look behind her, but she had a feeling everyone was following her. She slid down on her back with her arms, legs, and tail providing adequate balance. She could see the ground racing up to meet her, and she tried to calculate when would be a good enough moment to leap off to the ground.

Twenty feet from the pavement, Cindy looked at the ground at the base of the pyramid and thought she could see a large mattress placed on her estimated landing site. She had no time to consider someone had placed it there for her. Just before she reached the ground, she took a flying leap off the pyramid. She sailed gracefully over the mattress…and landed right in the arms of Chris Gammon. Both of them tumbled to the ground. Jonathan, Tortured Artist, and the other former agents immediately rushed in and grabbed a hold of Cindy.

One by one, Kevin and the dogs landed onto the mattress and harmlessly rolled off. Once they regained their composures, they helped their friends carry the struggling Cindy. She was thrashing about and screaming for someone to help her, but there didn't look like there was anyone around to assist her.

"NO! Let me go! Dark Sonic's crazy! Rex is still over there! I've got to get back to him!"

She continued screaming as they carried her through the double doors of the Luxor Hotel. They carried her through the lobby before finally throwing her into a couch. Jonathan and Chris sat on either side of her as everyone else stood and surrounded her.

Kevin rushed forward and angrily stared at Cindy. "What's the deal with everyone running off like that?" Kevin snapped, not listening to Cindy's pleas. "What's going on?"

Cindy, by now, was so bewildered by this ordeal that she nervously stared at all the other faces staring seriously back at her.

It wasn't until her eyes landed on Courage that she realized why they were all here.

"You," she said as she pointed at Courage. "You're…the dog Rex has been talking about. You're Courage?"

Courage nodded, unamused.

"Yeah," said Kevin. "As you can see, he's made quite a few friends who are seriously pissed about these recent events going on. Now, we need some answers, Cindy, and we need them now!"

Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, and D.M. looked at each other, amazed by Kevin's interrogative skills. They knew Kevin could become one helluva secret agent one day.

Cindy was too exhausted by this point to fight any longer. "I was hoping that the crowd out there would force Dark to keep a low profile and allow Rex enough time to heal. But I guess I was wrong. You see, Rex doesn't know what's going on yet, but I hoped that once he was better he could put an end to all this." Cindy sighed. "If you all only knew what Dark's plans are, you'd-…"

"We already know what Dark's up to," Jonathan interrupted. "What we don't know is how do we stop him?"

"I don't fuckin' know!" Cindy blurted, surprising herself by the outburst. "That's why I was hoping Rex would know how. He seemed fine until the minute that dog showed up!" Cindy snarled, pointing at Courage.

Everyone looked puzzled, especially Courage.

"What do you mean, 'he seemed fine'?" asked Kevin, confused. "In case you haven't noticed, Rex has never been one to behave normally."

"Rex WAS starting to behave normally!" shouted Cindy angrily. "It seemed that those therapy sessions were actually working much better than I previously anticipated. The only reason he even came to Vegas was just so he could film the return of his show and show me a good time, I swear! I know you find this very hard to believe, but Rex can be a nice guy, honest. But when Courage here showed up, Rex began reverting back to his normal behavior, hoping I wouldn't find out that he was doing it behind my back. I eventually found out when I suspected his unintentional involvement with Dark Sonic, but then Dark told me why he himself was there, and I realized it's bigger than I thought."

Courage immediately ran up and pushed Kevin out of the way. "What did he tell you?" Courage asked.

Cindy hesitated. This was the first time she had gotten a good look at Courage in the flesh. She was shocked to see a fire in Courage's eyes. At once, Cindy remembered Rex's account of his abusive relationship with this dog. They had been such good friends when they were little. Now, after such irresolvable abuse, it no wonder Courage held such a grudge against him. However, Rex was not the main concern at the moment.

"Dark Sonic told me that he was searching for four Dark Emeralds to become 'complete', and to not tell Rex anything about what was going on," said Cindy, remembering how Dark had threatened her to keep quiet. She decided not to go into details and pushed the thought out of her mind. "Apparently he didn't want to get Rex's hopes up until he was sure he could get all four. That's…" Cindy took a deep breath, knowing she'd barely be able to believe what she was about to say. "That's why he said he fated you all to be here at the same time."

It took a moment for Kevin to register that sentence. He actually took a step back in amazement. Courage, Misty, and the K9 Krew cocked their heads in astonished confusion.

"Wait," said Jonathan with disbelief. "You mean to tell us that Dark Sonic FATED each and every one of us to be here at the same time?"

"Yes, fated," muttered Cindy. "He thought the more pure hearts he get together, the better his chances. He knows you're all onto him and knows you'll find the last emerald for him if you're not careful. He's no doubt going to use one of you to find the last emerald, but knowing Dark, he's most likely not going to use anyone he's already used before."

A look of relief crossed the faces of Courage, Misty, and Tortured Artist, but a look of concern adorned the faces of everyone else. Cindy stared at Misty for a moment and said, "Are you related to Courage?"

"Sister," said Courage before Misty could respond. "Do you know which one of us Dark intends to use?"

Cindy shook her head. "That's up for Dark Sonic to decide."

"Oh my god," said Kevin suddenly. He turned to Courage and said, "What if he's going for Sandy next?"

Courage's heart sank into his stomach.

Trying to be optimistic, Jonathan quickly said, "How's he gonna do that if Sandy's unconscious?"

"Yeah," said D.M. "It's not like Sandy's gonna tell him either way."

Kevin turned to D.M. "At this point, I'm not taking any chances."

"Who's Sandy?" asked Cindy suddenly.

Jonathan was about to answer, but Courage blurted, "That's not important."

"Yeah," agreed Kevin. The last thing they needed was for anybody else to find out about her.

Cindy stood up abruptly, taking everyone by surprise. "Look, I gave you what you needed to know. Now I've got to get back to the Wild Kard or-…"

"Oh no you don't," said Kevin, grabbing her by the wrist. "You're just gonna go back to Rex and tell him what's happened here, and that's something that we don't want happening." He turned to Jonathan. "Do you know someplace where we can hold her?"

Five minutes later, Cindy was being unceremoniously tied to a chair in the Luxor basement.

"You know Rex is gonna come searching for me!" shouted Cindy defiantly.

Kevin leaned in and once again stared Cindy in the face. "Well, let's put things in perspective, shall we? On the one hand, we have Rex, who's currently cooped up in his room regenerating himself. On the other hand, we have Dark Sonic who's this close to finding the final emerald and possibly destroying all life on this planet by resurrecting the underworld. I think we know which one's the bigger priority."

Kevin turned and left the room with no apology. Everyone else began to follow him.

"What time is it?" Gareth asked Tortured Artist.

"About 4:00 PM," said Tortured Artist.

"We'd better get there before it gets late," said Joe.

Courage turned to Cindy and said, "I know you were just doing your job, but it's a lost cause. You're a nice person, but Rex is too far-gone."

"No he's not!" Cindy shouted. "You just need to see Rex the way I've seen him."

Chris approached Cindy with a piece of cloth. "I'm sure if I did, I wouldn't be able to eat for a week."

Cindy was too shocked to do anything as Chris gagged her. How did he know about…?

Then it dawned on her. _The security camera. My god, they all knew!_

Enraged, Cindy struggled against the ropes, but it was no use. The rope was tied in four places.

"C'mon," said Courage. "We need to check on Sandy."

Everyone ran out of the room…every one, that is, except one.

Psycho reached the door, but turned back to see Cindy crying. Knowing he didn't have much time, Psycho slowly walked back into the room.

Cindy was surprised to open her teary eyes to see the white-eyed dog staring at her. "Do you know aerobics or yoga or anything like that?" asked the white-eyed canine.

Cindy nodded her head.

Without a word, Psycho walked behind Cindy and undid one of the four knots.

"That should make things easier," said Psycho.

Cindy stared at Psycho, as if to say, "Why?"

Reading her stare, Psycho simply said, "I don't really like that dog either." With that, he left the room…leaving the door wide open.

Cindy felt grateful. The loosened knot did in fact make things easier. Taking some deep breaths, Cindy cleared her mind as her yoga exercises began to come back to her. She knew it would take a few hours, but she knew she could manage to escape successfully.

At that moment, Dark Sonic appeared in front of the Las Vegas Southside Animal Hospital where Sandy was being tended. At once, his walkie-talkie went off. He patiently listened as Phanto and Jester told him what happened to Cindy.

"Well, thank god they had some brains for once and contained her. It'll do Rex some good to worry about someone else for a change. As for you two, stick by Kevin and the others. I want to make sure they're listening to what I've got to say."

With that, Dark grinned as he slowly approached the animal hospital, preparing to send his warning to the others.


	28. The Story Is Winding Down

Authors' note: Sorry for the two-month delay. We've been very busy and lots of things have been going on. There are only about SIX MORE CHAPTERS left in this story, and we're hoping to FINALLY finish this story by New Years, so please be patient and stay tuned. –JR and CG

"The Story's Winding Down, Folks"

Dark Sonic stopped.

He stood alone in the parking lot of the Vegas animal hospital where Sandy was currently recovering. The late afternoon sun was reflecting off the windows into Dark's eyes. He ducked down behind a parked car and peeked over the side. Nobody was around. Perfect.

Dark Sonic had been walking towards the facility, but with every step he took, a mischievous feeling began growing inside him. When he stopped, he realized there were many different ways he could approach this. The quickest way would be to teleport inside, kill everyone, and then wait for Kevin and the others to arrive. However, the dead bodies could become too distracting. Even hidden, it wouldn't be long before some fool wandered inside and discovered them, creating more problems. Another possibility would be to just walk through the front door in his human form and request to see Sandy. That was a better idea, but not a perfect one. There was a chance he could be asked to see some ID, and any claim about him knowing Sandy or even being her owner would immediately be seen as false.

After coming up with two more bad possibilities, Dark Sonic finally decided on how to get inside. "The best way to get inside a building unnoticed," he said to himself, "is not to be noticed…secret agent-style."

Grinning, Dark Sonic slinked away from the car. He headed around to the rear of the building. All the while, he could feel his instincts screaming at him to just go inside and kill everyone. Dark forced himself to ignore them. He was going to do something new for once, something different, something besides random killing for a change. "You know what they say about too much of a good thing," muttered Dark. "Besides, it gives me an excuse to hum the James Bond theme."

Humming the song to himself, Dark wandered along the rear wall of the building. It wasn't long before caught sight of a door and ducked behind a trashcan. As he thought about how to get inside, he suddenly noticed the ever-popular air vent embedded in the wall behind him. "There you are," he said. He approached the vent, but it was screwed tightly into the wall, and Dark didn't have any screwdriver with him. So he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the grate. From there, he crawled on his hands and knees down the unidirectional air duct.

Switching from James Bond to the Mission Impossible theme, Dark Sonic continued his trek, running into a spider web in the process. He cursed, promising himself he'd switch back to mindless killing the next chance he got. Finally, after what seemed like a long time but really wasn't, Dark came upon an opening on the left wall. A metal grate filtered bands of light onto the opposite wall. Dark Sonic crawled over and peered through the grate. All he saw was an empty examination room. He crawled onward and approached a second grate. This time, it was the right one.

Sandy's body was lying on an examination table with intravenous fluids being injected into her. Several strips of gauze were administered to her abdomen and head, and purple bruises were scattered all over her body. She looked damaged, but in stable condition. However, much to Dark Sonic's chagrin, two doctors were standing over her. One was attaching the final strip of gauze to her body, while the other one was writing notes on a clipboard.

Dark Sonic scowled. It could take forever for these two morons to leave the room. But then, just before Dark decided, "Hell with this, I'm icing these jerks," Pam, the receptionist poked her head into the room and told them to come with her. Quickly, the two vets put down what they were doing and walked out of the room.

Now was his chance. Dark Sonic materialized into the room, shut the door, and locked it. Then he slowly turned around and eyed Sandy. The only sound in the room was the heart monitor maintaining a steady electronic beat.

Slowly, predatorily, Dark Sonic encircled the examination table until he was standing with Sandy's head pointing towards him. "At last," whispered Dark Sonic. "At long last…the last emerald shall be mine."

Dark carefully reached out and placed his palms against the sides of Sandy's head. Concentrating hard, Dark tried to mentally enter Sandy's mind.

Imagine his surprise when he discovered that he could not enter her mind at all! Dark flashed to the heart monitor, which was still working, so she couldn't be dead. Dark tried again, concentrating harder, but he was still received nothing. Dark started panicking. How was this possible? Every other time he had approached someone to find an emerald he had been successful.

But then again, that someone had been showed the riddle and had solved it with his or her own will. On top of that, the victim had been conscious. It had never occurred to Dark that if the victim were _un_conscious, he would be unable to communicate with said victim.

"Or could I?" thought Dark, suddenly remembering another special ability of his that he'd forgotten: his ability to enter someone's dreams. He'd done it numerous times before with Courage and others. Trying again, Dark felt his mind wander into Sandy's active subconscious. That meant Sandy was in fact dreaming of something. A moment later, Dark Sonic found himself inside one of Sandy's dreams.

He immediately wished he hadn't.

The world Dark found himself in was full of clouds and light, like heaven. Unlike heaven, there were large pink bones sticking out of the clouds everywhere. Some kind of sweet melodic music was playing in the distance, and a waterfall was falling from an enormous toilet nearby. A sensory overload of soft pastel colors existed no matter where you looked.

This scene was almost too much for Dark Sonic to take in…especially when he felt something nuzzling his ankle. He gasped in shock to find a bunny rabbit with sickeningly cute eyes gazing up at him. Dark recoiled with disgust, feeling extremely sick to his stomach. He looked around, but couldn't see Sandy anywhere.

"Aw, screw this," said Dark coldly. "She's probably getting jacked up by Courage here anyway."

With that, Dark Sonic snapped back to the real world, slightly shaken. If anybody found out where he'd been, he'd never hear the end of it. Dark decided to act as though his trip to Sandy's dream world had never happened. Unfortunately, this meant he was no closer to finding the fourth emerald than he was before, which was seriously making him mad. This was obviously a dead end…

"…Unless I were to somehow revive her," thought Dark, grinning suddenly. Then his face fell. "Of course, I have no idea how to go about _doing_ that. Dammit." Dark had been so used to killing others that he'd never had the need to revive them. "Then again, Sandy isn't dead, so that should make things easier." Dark eyed the medical equipment. "But then again, how would I do that with all this hospital stuff here? Then again…"

His rambling thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the door's handle jiggling. Someone was trying to come in! Thinking fast, Dark Sonic dove into a cabinet and closed the door behind him. "This isn't cowardice," Dark kept telling himself. "I just don't want to leave any evidence that I was here."

Outside the door, Dr. Richard Dolby was wondering why the door had been locked. Fingering the key in his pocket, he wondered if one of the fellow vets had wanted to make sure nothing would disturb the canine patient. Dr. Dolby fished the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Walking into the room, he found Sandy exactly as he'd left her.

Inside the cabinet, Dark Sonic peeked through the crack in the doors. He could see a vet double-checking some equipment before Pam appeared in the doorway again.

"Richard?" asked Pam. She sounded a little on-edge.

"Yes? What is it?" queried Richard.

"Remember that group of people and dogs that were here this morning? Well, they're back…and they're demanding to see that dog," said Pam, pointing to Sandy.

"Pam, you know the procedures, they have to…"

"Sir, they seemed a little, um, demanding at the moment. Considering everything that's happened today, I think you might want to let them see her."

"Very well, Pam," said Richard. "Let me just go and talk to them first." With that, Richard and Pam left the room.

Once they were gone, Dark Sonic immediately leaped out of the cabinet and locked the door again. Then, he ran over to Sandy and leaped onto the examination table by Sandy's feet. Dark's mind was racing. He knew that Kevin would feel in control if he knew that the location of the fourth emerald had not been found. "But Kevin doesn't KNOW that I don't know where the final emerald is," muttered Dark. "That could work in my favor."

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Richard, Pam, and all the other members of the veterinarian's staff were trying in vain to calm down Courage, Kevin, and all the others.

"Please, everyone stay calm!" demanded Richard.

"You don't understand!!" shouted Kevin.

"Sandy's in great danger!" added Jonathan.

"We have to see her now!" yelled Joe. The Krew, the other former agents, and Tortured Artist also joined in the debacle.

Before Richard could even say, "Go ahead," Kevin stormed past him, shouting, "Which room?"

"The one at the end of the hall!" shouted Pam.

The mob of people and dogs ran down the hallway to the last door. Kevin reached it first and found it locked.

"Someone open this damn door!" screamed Kevin. But Richard was the only one who had the key, and he was far back in the crowd.

"Outta the way, Kev!" shouted Jonathan. Kevin just barely dodged Jonathan's leg as it kicked in the door. Jonathan felt glad that his time as a secret agent had taught him something.

Kevin, who was the first one into the room, hadn't even taken one huge step when a voice shouted, "Take another step and she gets it in the throat! I swear, I will!!"

Kevin froze. In the doorway, Courage and Misty stopped, a look of absolute horror on their faces. Behind them, the former agents and Tortured Artist stood aghast. Joe, the Krew, and the vet personnel were too far back to see what was going on.

Standing on the examination table with an evil, leering look on his face was Dark Sonic. He had scooped up Sandy in his right arm and was holding her torso up, her legs still lying on the table. In his other hand, much to everyone's shock, he held a scalpel to Sandy's throat.

There was a moment where everything stood still. Just two simple beeps from the heart monitor could he heard. Then, Kevin, in a dark, cold voice that he didn't even know he was capable of uttering, said, "You…let…her…go…"

"Why should I?" snapped Dark. "There's nothing you can say or do that can stop me now."

Taking a gulp, Courage suddenly stepped forward. "Don't hurt her!" he shouted. He knew getting angry would definitely not help things, so he said the only thing he could say under the circumstances. "Please…take me instead, but please don't hurt her!"

Everyone turned to Courage in shock, but Dark quickly said, "HA! You think I'd waste my time ending your life when I now have the information I need to fulfill my ultimate desire of power and omnipotence?!!"

Misty let out a defeated gasp. Jonathan's stomach dropped, refusing to believe what he'd just heard.

"You know…where the last emerald is?" asked Chris from the doorway.

"Yes," said Dark trying to sound convincing. "You're all too late. I know exactly where the last emerald is."

"Then why aren't you on your way to retrieve it?" asked Courage.

Everyone stood and stared at Dark, who actually seemed hesitant to answer. _Dammit, they're onto me_, he thought to himself. "For your information, _dog_, I had just finished locating the emerald when you busted in here. I decided to…tell you all myself instead of letting you find out on your own."

Courage turned to Kevin. Kevin was surprised to see Courage actually smirking! Figuring out what Courage was implying, Kevin turned to Dark and said, "You don't know where the last emerald is, do you?"

"Hey, SHUDDUP!!!" screamed Dark suddenly. With lightning speed, he threw the scalpel in Kevin's direction. The scalpel sailed through the air and lodged itself deep into Kevin's arm, just below the shoulder. Kevin yelped and fell back against the wall, his hand clutching the blood-soaked tool sticking out of his arm.

"Kevin!" shouted Misty.

Courage angrily took a step toward Dark, but stopped when his hand clutched Sandy's throat.

"Don't even think about it, dog," warned Dark coldly. "Now, listen up everyone," said Dark with finality. "I promise each and every one of you that before this night is over, I will know where the last emerald is hidden, and I will find it. And I can promise you that one of you will tell me where it is. I haven't spent the last few years tinkering with all your lives, planting the seeds for this encounter in Vegas for nothing! Just because I caused fate to force each and everyone one of you to meet here does not mean that this will all blow up in my face! For too long I have yearned for that which will make me invincible…to open up the Earth and let Hell itself spill into the world that is your own."

The former agents inched their way into the room towards Kevin. Four members of the Krew stood in the doorway while Tortured Artist and Joe kept the vets from looking into the room by blocking the hallway.

Dark kept talking, his voice suddenly changing to a loud whisper. "Maybe you still think that sounds a little extreme? Don't worry…you'll find out if I'm telling the truth soon enough." And with that, Dark disappeared. Sandy's body collapsed on the table with a 'thud'.

The aftermath was quick and emotional. Courage and Misty rushed over to Sandy, while the former agents began shouting orders to help Kevin. The vets kept asking what had happened but were preoccupied with assisting Kevin. Richard Dolby carefully removed the scalpel in a corner of the room and quickly wrapped up the wound with some gauze. Kevin, who was crying and reeling with pain, managed to thank the vet through gritted teeth. The Krew wandered around the room in a daze trying to make sense of what they'd witnessed. Joe and Tortured Artist tried unsuccessfully to give a fictional account of what had happened to the clueless vets until the former agents took over. It wasn't very believable, but the vets were too confused with their own opinions to consider it heavily. One of them had tried to call the police, but all the lines were busy. Evacuations were still going on. All highways and roads going out of the city were in use. Barely anybody was within the animal hospital's vicinity.

"Can I have everyone's attention?!" shouted Jonathan suddenly. Everyone turned and looked at him. Jonathan turned to the vets and said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask every one of you evacuate the city."

"But what about the patient?" asked Richard, pointing to Sandy.

"Sir, since she is the only patient here, we'll have to stay with her to…"

The other vets immediately began arguing about their disapproval with that idea. Finally, it was decided that Pam would stay here until the patient recovered.

As the vets gathered their things and began to evacuate, Kevin turned a tearful face to Jonathan. "What do we do now?" Kevin asked.

For once, Jonathan didn't have a clear answer. Given what had just happened, it was hard to figure out a logical course of action.

Suddenly, Tortured Artist looked at Joe and said, "Joe, I think one of your bandmates is missing."

Confused, Joe turned to the K9 Krew. There was RX, Humphrey, Daisy, Gina, and…

"Hey…where's Psycho?" asked Humphrey. RX, Daisy and Gina looked around, but Psycho was nowhere to be seen.

"Didn't he come with us to the vet?" Joe asked.

"I thought so," said Gina.

Joe paused for a moment, a horrible thought coming to mind. "I think I know where he went."

Kevin suddenly jerked his head to a surprised Courage. "He wouldn't," muttered Kevin.

Courage frowned. "He would," he said coldly.

With that, Courage took one sad last look at Sandy and hopped off the table. He walked into the hallway and into the lobby. Everyone followed him.

"Where are you going?" asked D.M.

"Yeah," added Gareth.

"Back to the Wild Kard," said Courage, walking out the door. Several vets followed after him, heading for their cars.

Joe and the Krew followed Courage, as did Tortured Artist.

Richard Dolby locked his office and headed for the door. On the way, Kevin grabbed his arm. "Thank you, sir," said Kevin. "I don't know what we would've done without you."

"You're welcome," said Richard warmly. "I hope your friend recovers soon…and I hope you all succeed in whatever you're doing now."

Kevin only smiled weakily.

"Take care, Pam," said Richard. "I hope to see you again soon after the evacuations are over, okay?"

"You have my number," smiled Pam.

Richard smiled back as he exited the building.

Kevin turned and looked at the former agents. "Well, guys," said Kevin, with Misty tugging at his pant leg. "I just want to let you guys know that, whatever happens, well…it's been great, and I…"

"Hey, hold it, Kev," said Jonathan, trying very hard not to sound emotional. "You sound like we're not gonna get through this."

"Yeah," said Chris. "That's not the Kevin we know and love."

"Buck up, mate," said Gareth enthusiastically. "We'll get through this."

"Together?" asked Kevin.

As a response, D.M. walked up and gave Kevin a quick kiss on the cheek. "I wouldn't want it any other way," she said.

Kevin smiled. He looked down and saw Misty trying to get his attention. "Kevin, my brother's gonna be halfway to the Wild Kard by the time you're through. Could you save that 'til the 'Pocalypse actually happens?"

"Sorry," said Kevin, not knowing if Misty was being sarcastic or not. "You're right. Let's go."

And so they went…Courage the Cowardly Dog led the way back to the Wild Kard Hotel. Every so often he would look behind him to see Misty, Kevin, Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, Darkest Moon, Tortured Artist, Joe, and the K9 Krew (at least, the four good members of the Krew.) Courage felt sorry and proud at the same time. He was sorry he had to allow all of them to be involved in this fiasco…and yet, he couldn't imagine a better group to be with. They had so much loyalty and devotion towards him. The thought nearly made Courage joyously break down right there. But there were those he would have to face yet again who wanted him destroyed…maybe for the very last time. Rex was completely regenerated by now, he was sure of that. And for the first time, it seemed Dark Sonic had transcended Rex's level of evil to one of near unimaginable proportions. And last but not least, Psycho…the Krew's black sheep band member who was actually friends with his sworn enemy, Rex and had the gall to betray everyone by returning back to Rex when everyone else went to the animal hospital to save Sandy from Dark Sonic. And to think that dog had wanted to be friends with Courage to begin with!

Courage suddenly looked to the west. He gulped as he saw the last piece of sunlight dip below the horizon…quite possibly the last sunlight he would ever see. This morning, before the big fight in the ballroom, he had thought the sun_rise_ would be the last one he would ever see. Now this was probably the last sunset he would ever see too.

Courage gazed up into the orange-red sky. "Please," he whispered to himself. "If anyone can hear me, please…don't let the inevitable happen. Please…help us…help us get through this night alive. I want to live to see tomorrow…we all do. Help us, please."

Courage bowed his head and continued toward the Wild Kard, wondering if anybody from above had heard his prayer.

He had no way of knowing that someone had……


	29. Sick and Tired of It All

"Sick and Tired of It All"

Psycho K9 sat in a lonely corner of the lobby. Forty-eight hours ago, he'd been so happy…on a tour bus with his bandmates, going to gigs, seeing the sights. But so much had changed since then. Dark Sonic, Courage, Rex…

"William," muttered Psycho to himself. He still couldn't believe his online friend, a friend who knew sorrow and dispair on so many levels, was dead.

After Psycho had assisted Cindy's escape from the chair in the basement of the Luxor (she's still struggling to get out, remember), he had hung back and watched Courage and the others go off into the distance towards the vet where Courage's girlfriend was being held (which led to their confrontation with Dark Sonic in the previous chapter.) Obviously, they were too concerned about Sandy to even notice his absence. In a negatively emotional daze, Psycho had stumbled across the vacant street, staggered into the Wild Kard Hotel, and collapsed into a corner of the lobby.

Time seemed to stand still as Psycho sat there, wallowing in a deep pit of depression. As tears streamed down his muzzle, he reflected on specific events that led him to this point. The band's kidnapping…Rex's interview at the Stratosphere…Dark Sonic's ambush…their horrifying ordeal in the casino…

Rex's death in the ballroom.

Psycho trembled as he recalled his burning hatred at seeing Courage standing there by Rex's destroyed body. He now began to understand Rex's "demotional" personality. Pushed to the brink. No turning back.

Psycho shook his head and sniffed. Sure, he had felt these feelings toward Courage, but that pink mutt obviously had the same feelings towards him. The way Courage had fought back during their brief quarrel in the ballroom…there was more strength in him than he had realized. And afterwards, when Courage had thrown the bone bracelet back at him…the one he had given Courage when he'd visited the band backstage at their Wild Kard concert…the one Psycho gave to anyone he considered his friend.

He had remembered Humphrey picking it up in the ballroom and had asked him to hand it over. It had been in Psycho's pocket ever since. Now Psycho reached in, pulled the bracelet out, and examined it. What had possessed him to give this to someone he'd thought was his friend?

"I'd just met him," Psycho said to himself. "I didn't know what would happen." He put the bracelet back in his pocket, cursing at himself for being so stupid. "So what now?" By now, everyone at the vet probably knew he was missing. "They probably think I'm still helping that girl in the basement…or I'm helping Dark Sonic…god…"

Psycho closed his eyes and cried into his paws. He had no clue what to do next.

Across the street, in the Luxor's basement, Cindy was undoing the last of the knots. Her yoga training had paid off. As the last piece of rope fell to the floor, Cindy couldn't help but wonder what motivated that white-eyed dog to seemingly change sides. He had said because he didn't like Courage, but how could he justify that? Cindy wanted to speak with him again.

She hurried for the exit, wondering if Rex was still in the hotel and prayed that Dark Sonic wasn't around to stop her.

In his penthouse suite, Rex sat cross-legged on the floor by the wall-length windows. He had a phenomenal view of the Vegas Strip, a place that was now more or less deserted. He was watching the sun beginning to set behind the mountains to his left.

This very personal activity was part of his "therapy". Cindy had recommended that he spend some time watching nature every now and then. Rex didn't see much point in doing so at the time, but he had currently gotten so bored lying in his hotel room, he didn't know what else to do. By now, Rex was completely regenerated, and nothing good was on TV, so Rex sat and stared at the horizon.

He'd been deep in thought for some time now, mostly about his "TV show". What audience was "The Rex Show" actually reaching out towards? Were there fans, cameras, and a production crew…or were they all just figments of his twisted imagination? He recalled the slightly confused looks Joe and the Krew had when he interviewed them in the basement of the Stratosphere. Had they just been playing along the whole time? Rex knew the answers to these questions, but he also knew that without doing this "show", Rex wouldn't have any other hobbies except making people's lives miserable 24/7.

This led to another thought Rex had been thinking, something that deeply troubled him. Due to his nanobot-enhanced regenerative abilities, Rex was "scientifically immortal," but what had happened in the ballroom this morning…that was the first real taste of mortality Rex had sensed in a long time, since before he'd received his metal limbs. That feeling of near death disturbed him a great deal. It was a horrible, cold feeling of vulnerability that stabbed the very center of Rex's soul. He had displayed an aura of invincibility for so long that Rex had forgotten that it was in fact possible for him to die. If someone were to, say, chop him up into tiny pieces and bury all the pieces separately, or if someone simply chopped his entire head off without quickly putting it back on the body, then he would definitely die.

As soon as Rex came to this important realization, he felt like his whole life, every single moment of it, had suddenly been put into perspective. Sure, he had recited his life story to Cindy recently, but he had focused too much on single events to see the big picture. For the first time, he could clearly see the entire timeline of every moment, every fixation, good or bad, that had ever happened to him. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Rex continued to stare at the sunset, which was just starting to sink towards the horizon. Out of nowhere, Rex suddenly wondered if heaven looked like the sunset. The oranges and yellows, streaked by cirrus clouds and passing birds, was a surprisingly glorious sight…one Rex had seen many times before but until now had never really noticed. Struggling to keep from crying, Rex slowly leaned forward until his head made contact with the cool glass. As if jarring it from his mind, Rex suddenly asked himself a question…a question that he never thought he'd ask, yet should've asked himself a long time ago:

"Why am I tormenting Courage?"

When he thought about it, Sonic and Eggman had each caused more pain in his life than Courage. Courage had merely stood by him since day one until creative differences drove them apart. The arguments, the brutality, the attempted suicides…Rex and Courage had been through it all. That was what Courage was to Rex now…a physical reminder of Rex's past. When Rex looked into Courage's eyes, he could see his mother's smile, his friends Nic and Nack laughing and playing together…he saw the horrible laughter of Eggman and the sarcastic face of Sonic. Rex just wanted to be rid of Courage, but every time he confronted him, he refused to be destroyed, so Rex would leave him once again. And yet, no matter how far away they got, they always seemed to find each other. It bothered Rex to no end.

And now Courage had become just like Rex. It was like a movie actor watching a theater production of his life story up on stage. The main character (Courage) had transformed to become exactly what the spectator (Rex) was.

"What am I supposed to do?" muttered Rex. "Accept the fact that Courage will survive no matter what I throw at him? That I gotta let this go and move on?"

Rex knew he couldn't, but something was nagging on the back of his mind. Against his will, Rex sighed and spontaneously forced himself to imagine what life would be like if he weren't obsessed with killing Courage.

A picture of a late-night talk show appeared in his daydream, The Rex Show. Rex, in Jay Leno attire, was saying "Good night" to the applauding audience, going backstage, and signing autographs. Then he arrived at home, a big Hollywood mansion, and Cindy greeted him with a big hug and kiss. Then a small group of armadillo-fox-raccoon hybrids bounded all over Rex, yelling "Daddy!" over and over.

Instantly, Rex snapped out of his thoughts and fell over backwards, laughing. This reaction surprised Rex, but he remained jovial. "Ridiculous," he said to himself between chuckles. For one thing, unless some advance in biological science was achieved, Rex and Cindy's species were nearly impossible to crossbreed.

"As if that'll stop me from trying," chuckled Rex. He sat up and leaned his head against the window again. He glanced down at the street and was surprised to discover that he wasn't wondering if a fall from this high up would kill him. (The answer, Rex knew, was "No", since he'd just regenerate after about eight hours. It took nearly all day to regenerate after the ballroom explosion, after all.) Was it his imagination, or were his suicidal tendencies diminishing? Maybe Cindy's treatments were working. Maybe it was time to finally give up on this endless charade to exterminate Courage. Maybe Rex was finally losing it. Maybe…

Suddenly, Rex spotted someone down on the street. A figure was running from the Luxor across the street to the Wild Kard Hotel where Rex currently was. Even from this high up, Rex could clearly see the figure's big bushy tail and grayish fur.

"Cindy?" said Rex, rising to his feet. What was she doing at the Luxor? Wasn't that where Courage was staying? Or was he somewhere else by now? Rex didn't know at the moment, and he needed answers.

Confused, Rex ran out of the room, heading for the nearest elevator. As he ran, he also began wondering why Dark Sonic hadn't contacted him in hours.

"Must be planning to hold up meter maids or something," huffed Rex. (Remember, Rex still doesn't know about Dark Sonic's plan and the emeralds, believe it or not.)

Cindy stopped a couple hundred feet away from the Wild Kard entrance to catch her breath. She turnedto the west and caught the sun sitting on the horizon line. The sky looked exquisite, a palette of warm colors that any painter or photographer would love to capture, but Cindy had more important things to do than admire scenery. She turned and stared up at the towering façade of the Wild Kard complex. As she stood there, she began wondering if telling Rex about her rough interrogation at the Luxor was a good idea. Who knows what Rex would do to them all if she told him of her mistreatment? Taking a deep breath, Cindy ran forward and burst through the front doors of the Wild Kard Hotel.

In the midst of his sadness, Psycho heard a noise near the front of the hotel. He lifted his head and saw a blur of colors and shapes. He wiped his eyes and looked again. Cindy had just entered the lobby about a hundred feet away. Psycho was glad she had the strength to free herself. He wanted to explain to her his situation, but just then Cindy called out Rex's name and received no answer. Psycho whined quietly. Didn't she know Rex was already dead? How could she not? Did her…

Suddenly, a hotel elevator 'binged'. Psycho watched Cindy whirl around and look towards the elevator. The elevator's occupant stepped out…

Psycho's jaw dropped in astonishment. "No way…"

"Cindy?" Rex asked as the elevator doors closed behind him.

"Rex!" exclaimed Cindy as she rushed towards him. "You're all better! Thank god, I was beginning to worry…about…"

Cindy stopped talking as Rex walked right up to her and looked her in the eye. His soulless blue eyes gazed into her yellow eyes that were filling with nervousness. Even though Rex still looked predominately evil, there was a small twinge of sorrow behind those eyes.

"Where were you?" Rex asked, sounding more concerned than angry.

"I…I was at the Luxor," answered Cindy, not knowing where this conversation was going. "It was the only place I could run to when they declared an evacuation. Dark Sonic…"

Rex grabbed onto Cindy's shoulders, not threateningly but with just enough pressure to sound serious. "What did you tell them?" he asked.

"W-what?" Cindy asked, dumbstruck.

"What did you tell Kevin and the others?"

"How did you…?"

"Your wrists," said Rex, who pointed to Cindy's ruffled wrists. "The part in the fur shows you were tied up. Your ankles too." Rex's eyes suddenly darted back to Cindy's face. "Did they hurt you?"

"They just asked me a few quest…"

"DID THEY HURT YOU?" Rex shouted angrily.

Cindy understood Rex's concern, but didn't appreciate his yelling. "No…" she finally answered. Her eyes darted to the floor.

"Look at me," said Rex sternly. Cindy glanced up at Rex's serious face. The sadness that had been replaced by anger had suddenly returned. "Don't lie to me, Cindy. You'd only be setting a bad exam..."

Suddenly, a shout erupted off to the side. Rex and Cindy instinctively jerked to the source of the sound. Both of them were more than a little surprised by what they saw.

Psycho K9 looked as though he'd seen a ghost. He had slowly approached Rex and Cindy during their argument until he was only about ten feet away. He was shaking slightly, staring at Rex with a slack jaw and wide eyes that were red from crying.

"Hey!" Rex said, his tone immediately changing from somber to enthusiastic, which surprised Cindy. Rex walked up to Psycho and was curious to know why he looked so shocked. He crouched down in front of him and noticed Psycho's wet eyes.

"Have you been crying?" Rex asked, sympathetically.

Psycho couldn't answer. The last time he had seen Rex's disheveled body was just this morning, when it was charred to a crisp in the ballroom. Unrecoverable. Now, at sunset on the same day, here he was, good as new.

"Y…y…you…you were…supposed to be…d…dead…" stuttered Psycho.

Rex looked confused for a moment, but immediately grinned and shook his head. "Psy, psy, psy…did the fact that I have nano-regenerative capabilities suddenly slip your mind? C'mon, and we've been online buds for how long?"

Psycho's expression instantly changed. How could he possibly have forgotten? Months ago, Rex had explained to Psycho in excruciating detail about his nanotechnological abilities to regrow his body in times of impalement and such. In fact, during their brief "webcam" period, Rex had shown, among other things, a demonstration of his regenerative capabilities in exchange for the band's archive of backstage "groupie antics". (Psycho later admitted he had no such footage, and Rex begged him to consider getting some. A decent camera and editing software was still on Psycho's wish list.) Rex's ability was also previously mentioned at the animal hospital waiting room by none other than Psycho himself!

Psycho let out a funny sigh/laugh and shook his head. "You're right, I…I…"

"Hey, don't sweat it," said Rex, giving Psycho an awkward hug. "It could've happened to anyone. I get those brain farts all the time."

Psycho smiled and felt a great deal of relief, still not believing he could've forgotten such a simple thing like that. He glanced over at Cindy, who had been silently observing the scene with growing intent. Psycho's paw instinctively went into his pocket and felt something metal. Realizing what it was, he pulled his fist from his pocket and held it out in front Rex.

"For me?" asked Rex. He held his metal hand out to receive whatever it was.

Psycho opened his fist and out dropped the golden bone chain-bracelet, making a soft clink as it crumpled in Rex's metal palm.

Rex looked at Psycho oddly, "You already mailed me one of these before, remember?"

"Give him one for me," was all Psycho said before walking (actually, running) off to a nearby men's restroom. It had been hours since he had last relieved himself.

Rex looked at Psycho running off before he suddenly got the idea and smiled. Rex attempted to put the bracelet in his pocket, but discovered that his pockets were pockmarked with holes. Seeing no other option, Rex clumsily clipped the bracelet onto his nonmetal wrist. He then stood up, walked over to a bewildered Cindy, and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure everything's alright," was all he said before heading off to find something to eat in the hotel kitchen.

Cindy had to admire Rex's actions...whatever they meant.Though it was sweet of him to be so protective, it was creepy how he showed it so out of context sometimes.

It wasn't long before Psycho returned from the restroom looking much better than before. He walked over to Cindy and asked where Rex had gone. Cindy told him.

"Odd character, ain't he?" said Psycho, out of the blue.

"I don't think I'll ever fully understand him." Cindy said shaking her head.

Meanwhile, Dark Sonic was messing with people at a card table in another casino. Since he had not too long ago told Courage and the good guys that he was going to find the last emerald by the end of tonight, he felt confident enough to spend the last remaining minutes of daylight ("Ever," he thought to himself) by entertaining himself.

"Did you know that Christians frown upon playing cards? Not only are they frequent in places of sin such as strip clubs, casinos, bars, and street corners, but the whole deck is filled with demonic imagery and messages."

Dark shuffled the deck in unnatural ways to entertain the befuddled onlookers. He dealt a King first.

"The King, of course, represents Satan, the dark lord and enemy of God."

Next came a 10.

"The 'Ten Spot' represents lawlessness, the opposite of the Ten Commandments."

Next came a Jack and Queen.

"Jack is an adulterer, a pimp. The Queen is a mockery of Mother Mary. She's called the Mother of Harlots, or more specifically, Semiramis, the mother of Noah's grandson and the one who instituted every form of Pagan religion."

Then came the Joker.

"The joker is said to be the bastard offspring of the tryst between Jack and Queen and also a representation of Jesus as a fool."

Then came three random cards, each of them a different suite.

"Spades represent Death, as it is the tool of digging graves. Hearts represent a mockery of the Broken Heart of Christ. And finally, Clubs are the spirit of murder, as it was the weapon of choice in the 1300's."

Dark scooped the cards up and shuffled some more.

"Now, any self-respecting Christian wouldn't have such a tool of the Devil in their house. Of course, if you believe all that shit, then you should leave right now."

Dark dealt a pair of sevens.

"Here are your Walking Sticks."

Everyone applauded in a sort of confused amusement. They didn't know this, yet now wish they didn't.

Dark placed a Dealer Button on the table in front of him and began to deal.

"Okay the game's Seven Card Hold'em, Joker's wild, betting limit is 200. Each of you get two pocket cards, and the other five go in the flop. Anyone who can make a good hand from the community cards is the winner. Those of you who want to increase the pot at each street can do so if they want. Remember, the cap is 200. I don't want to get arrested because I don't work here! Buy in amount is 25."

Dark leaned in and was just about to deal when a funny feeling made him freeze. Dark closed his eyes and slowly opened them. The casino was actually deserted. The explosions that had gone on today had evacuated nearly 80 of the entire downtown Vegas area. Dark's overactive imagination had merely created the fictitious casino onlookers.

"Hmmm…" said Dark slyly as the feeling dissipated. "Something's gonna go down real soon. Can't miss this!"

Dark quickly disappeared, knowing that he would reappear in a small dark location somewhere in the Wild Kard lobby.

Rex returned from the kitchen empty-handed. He only found a box of crackers and some fruit in the kitchen, which was damaged by the ballroom explosions. Rex entered the lobby to see Psycho and Cindy staring out the front doors of the hotel.

"Looking for unwanted guests!" shouted Rex.

Cindy turned and nodded. Psycho shouted, "You know they'll be arriving any minute now!"

Rex nodded. Courage, Kevin, and the others wouldn't be gone long, wherever they were. His best guess (and the correct one) was that they'd gone to wherever Courage's girlfriend was being kept alive. Rex didn't know the exact status of Sandy, but he just knew that with his luck, she was still alive. Rex didn't exactly know what to do once Courage and his 'posse' arrived, but another concern had presented itself.

"Does anyone know where Card Trick went?" asked Rex. He thought the rabbit would be in the kitchen, but Rex actually hadn't seen him since yesterday.

Cindy and Psycho began heading back towards the front desk where Rex was. Cindy shook her head, but Psycho stiffened. He suddenly remembered the casino incident…him and his band being strapped to that giant wheel…that insane rabbit in the Suicide King mech-robot-thing trying to kill everybody, it seemed.

"Card Trick?" asked Psycho. "He's that crazy rabbit who tried to destroy everybody in the casino, right?"

"Well," said Rex, misinterpreting Psycho's question, "he might be a little underhanded when it comes to casino games, but there's a very good reason for that." Rex continued, slightly worried about telling anyone, even Psycho, about Card Trick's big secret. "See, he's…"

"That's not what I meant," interrupted Psycho. "He tried to kill us!"

"Who? Card Trick?" asked Rex, now very confused.

Psycho immediately went into a long description of everything Psycho and his band went through between Dark Sonic's frightful ambushes in their hotel room the night before until just before they entered the ballroom after they escaped the casino this morning.

Rex didn't look convinced. "That doesn't sound like Card Trick, Psy. He's normally a mischievous little guy, but that's about it. I've never heard of him trying to outright kill anyone. Trust me, I've known the guy almost as long as I've known you."

"Then…" said Psycho trying to think, "maybe there was more to it than we thought. I think I remember him saying something about how it wasn't his fault or something like that. Where is he now?"

"I dunno," said Rex. Frankly, it bothered him whenever he couldn't get in touch with Card Trick, now more than ever.

Cindy spoke up. "Can't you try calling him on the phone or something?"

Rex nodded. He turned around and stood before the front desk. He reached over and grabbed the phone.

"Uh, Rex?" said Psycho, so surprised he fell back onto his haunches.

"Just a second, Psy," said Rex. "I'm dialing." Quietly to himself, he muttered, "C'mon, CT, where are you?" (For those who need clarification, Card Trick is still unconscious inside a nearby janitor's closet with the Krew's bus driver, Allen, who's also knocked out.)

"Rex!" said Psycho, this time more urgently.

"Damn!" shouted Rex into the receiver, not hearing the front doors of the Wild Kard Hotel swing open. "They must've disconnected the phone lines. Now what am I gonna…"

"Rex!" shouted Cindy this time as she tugged on Rex's arm.

"What!" shouted Rex as he turned around. Instantly, a look of surprised melancholy crossed his face. "Oh," he muttered as the phone fell from his hand.

Fifteen feet away from where Rex and Cindy were standing, Psycho had fallen back on his rear staring towards the front of the lobby. Fifteen feet from Psycho, like a cast photo for a movie poster, stood, in no particular order, the cavalry.

The former secret agents/current Luxor employees, Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, and Darkest Moon, stood in the back along with Joe, the owner/lead singer of the K9 Krew, since all five of them were the tallest. In front of them stood Tortured Artist and Kevin in the center of the group. To his left stood RX and Humphrey. To his right stood Gina, Daisy, and Courage's sister, Misty. The only group member who wasn't present was Sandy, who was still recovering at the vet.

Leading the pack, dead center, was Courage the Cowardly Dog.

"Shit," muttered Rex, glumly.

Courage's eyes were fixated, and stared briefly at Psycho before turning his attention to Rex. The armadillo was momentarily taken aback. Rex almost could feel those eyes burning into his soul, just like at the ballroom and during countless other moments from before.

Slowly, Kevin stepped up behind Courage as Psycho slowly got to his feet. "Time's up, Rex," said Kevin. "You got nowhere to run!"

There was a pause. Nervously, Psycho looked back and forth between the two parties, wondering which side he was supposed to be on.

"Ohhh, now the drama's poppin'!" said Rex, trying to act normally. He took a step forward and pointed towards Kevin and the others. "Look, all I'm trying to do here is call Card Trick and…"

Rex stopped. He suddenly noticed Courage's eyes bug out as they stared at something on Rex's arm. Rex followed his line of sight until he realized what it was. At the same time, Psycho also followed Courage's gaze and immediately felt his stomach drop when he realized the problem. "Oh, crap," he uttered.

Courage had noticed something shining on Rex's non-metal wrist when he pointed at him. Courage had squinted to get a better look and suddenly stared in wide-eyed shock at what he saw.

It was the bone bracelet hanging from Rex's wrist.

Courage darted his glare to Psycho. The shocked look on Psycho's face sealed his assertion.

The pink dog turned back to Rex. "Where did you get that?" Courage seethed.

"What? This?" Rex asked stupidly, looking at the bracelet. He tried to keep his voice from wobbling as he explained. "Well, since you didn't want it, I decided to give it a good home. I already got one at home anyway."

Rex hoped that last comment would drive Courage over the edge again, but it didn't seem to work at first. Courage's attention had shifted back to Psycho, who was starting to fidget uncomfortably.

Saying nothing, Courage walked slowly towards the white-eyed canine. Nobody followed him. In fact, nobody was going to move until the first punch was thrown.

Courage stopped directly in front of Psycho, their noses only a couple inches apart.

Psycho was waiting for Courage to attack or verbally threaten him or something, but Courage just stood there. The onslaught was inevitable and Psycho instantly wanted to just get it over with. Taking a breath, Psycho whispered, "I thought you were my friend. And I guess I was wrong. At least I know HE won't disappoint me." Psycho said sternly, pointing his thumb back over his shoulder towards Rex.

Just as he'd predicted, Courage leapt onto Psycho, knocking him to the floor again. This was the obvious cue, since everyone began to suddenly rush in and pull them apart. For a few seconds, everyone was yelling, screaming, and carrying on as both sides struggled to separate the two. Even Cindy and Rex were getting tired of the "fun" and reached into the dog pile to see what could be done.

A minute went by when suddenly an uproarious scream caught everyone's attention. Everyone turned to the front desk.

To everyone's utter shock and amazement, Kevin Henderson was standing on top of the desk, screaming his head off, obviously to get everyone's attention.

**"I can't take this anymore!"** he shouted at the top of his lungs. **"I'm just so sick and tired of it all! I was supposed to go on a vacation! Just a nice, simple vacation to get away from it all, but NOOOOO…everybody had to just go and RUIN it for me! What is your people's problem! Don't you all care that you're ruining my life! What do you think I'm going to tell my parents when this is all over! Hi, Mom and Dad! While I was in Vegas, I met a green armadillo who tried to kill us all! And then we had to go all over the place trying to stop the end of the world! And I never even got to see the STUPID TIGERS and the SIGFREID whatever show, and…."**

Kevin went on like this for several minutes. Everybody just stood motionless in the center of the lobby, staring in disbelief, as Kevin continued his rant, his arms flailing about. Rex, who held Psycho and Courage above the ground in each hand by the back of their necks, was trying really hard not to smile. One of his guilty pleasures was that he always found it amusing whenever other people went berserk. Of course, Kevin was the _last _person he (or anyone else) expected to blow his top.

A few minutes later, a red-faced Kevin was on all fours on the desk and his voice had almost given out. Drool was hanging from his mouth and he looked like he was about to pass out. All that screaming didn't leave him much time to breath in much oxygen. He was breathing heavily and was leaning dangerously close to the edge of the desk.

When it looked like he was finally done, Rex cleared his throat and simply said, "Are ya through, Kev?"

Kev nodded before he half stepped, half fell to the floor. Still, nobody moved a muscle.

Rex cleared his throat and spoke up. "I think what Crazy Boy's trying to say is that we're going about solving this problem the wrong way. This isn't Las Venturas, so there's no need for this kind of 100 mindless violence. Regular violence is okay, but not the mindless kind. That, like what Kevin just demonstrated, is silly and pointless."

Everybody, especially Courage and Psycho, turned and stared at Rex, confused as to what the hell that meant. Obviously, some of them never played Grand Theft Auto.

Rex, enjoying the sudden attention, had no intention of letting everyone know he was making this up as he went along. "Now," continued Rex, "I propose we do this the manly way and settle it in a good old-fashioned sport…none of these 'killer robots' and 'unequal odds' and whatnot…something fair and square!" Rex brought Courage and Psycho back down to the ground, but didn't let go of their necks.

"Since when?" Humphrey suddenly asked from the crowd.Everyone else muttered agreements. Rex only shot a dirty look at the white dog that was ruining his panache.

Kevin stumbled over to Rex, still a bit woozy from his outburst. "W-what do…what do you suggest? A race?"

Rex thought for a moment and suddenly released Psycho and Courage as he walked past Kevin and went behind the front desk. Courage and his canine adversary were too curious as to what was going on to continue their quarrel.

Rex reached behind the front desk, and tossed something to Kevin. It was the keys to his Mustang.

"Your car versus my Viper. From one end of the Strip to the other and back. If you win, I'll get rid of this hotel and head on out of Vegas permanently. The Krew can get back to their gig, you can go back to wherever it is you live, Kevin, and Courage can back to Nowhere…and his sis can go back to wherever she came too." Rex glanced at Misty, who was frowning back at him. "And this time, I'll try extra-extra-hard never to cause anymore pain and suffering to you or any of your little friends, okay?"

"And if _you_ win?" asked Courage from the side.

Rex thought for a second. "If I win…then…um…I will do everything to make sure this hotel becomes the newest permanent addition to the Vegas Strip. I'll also keep close contact with all my K9 Krew peeps…and…" Rex suddenly sparked an idea. "And sweet little Sandy might take a turn for the worst."

Rex felt pleased with himself for coming up with that last minute option. Of course, he instantly received major opposition for that, so he added, "Look it's so simple. I win, I leave Sandy to recover on her own, even thought her chances of survival are like, 50-50 right now. But if _you_ win, I'll personally contact every veterinarian within 500 miles of here to make sure she makes a full recovery. Besides…you wouldn't want anybody to come along and **dark**en her day, right?"

Courage growled. "You better tell Dark he'd better not do anything more to her, or I swear…"

"Oh, stop worrying, mutt," said Rex. "I'm sure he's got better things to do anyway."

"Damn right, he does," said Jonathan, who suddenly stepped forward. Everyone, including Cindy, was stunned. It looked like he was about to tell Rex that only one emerald remained for Dark Sonic to find, but all he said was. "We're already trying to stop him from completing his evil plan and we don't want to end up at the receiving end of that anymore than you do!"

Rex quirked an eyebrow. "Evil plan?"

Kevin looked oddly at Rex. "Yes, evil plan. Don't you know about what he's planning to do?"

Rex crossed his arms and said, "If I cared about half of what Dark does to make all life on Earth filled with misery and woe, than I'd be a lot harder to tolerate than I am right now. So whadyya say, Kev? We got a deal?"

Kevin was too surprised to do anything at first. _Rex didn't know about the emeralds!_ He wasn't even part of Dark Sonic's plan at all! He couldn't believe he didn't know about it by now…or maybe he had known, but forgot. Either way, he had to make a decision.

"Uh, Kevin?" said Chris, "Before you answer, um, can we talk this over real quick?"

Kevin looked at Rex. "Excuse me a sec," he said before him and his group went off to talk about their remaining options.

Rex turned to Cindy. "Hon, go over there and make sure they aren't conspiring against me or something, OK?"

Reluctantly, Cindy obliged and went off.

As Rex watched her walk off, he heard a familiar voice sing some song lyrics behind him.

"Jesus on your dashboard but the devil's under your hood. Taking it down to legal, pulling it up to no good. God is your co-pilot you let Satan ride shotgun. You pay a toll to get to heaven but on the road to hell there's none!"

"What do you wnat now?" asked Rex.

Dark Sonic stepped out of the shadows, checking to make sure only Rex saw him. He had nearly stepped out to stop the good guys from explaining his plan to Rex, but Rex had unknowingly saved them with his denial of any involvement.

"Can I play too?" Dark asked, childishly.

Rex sighed. "Sure, you can ride shotgun if you want," Rex said, excited to get some support once again. "By the way, what have you done to Card Trick?"

Dark Sonic only grinned.

Rex's smile faded. He really hated it when Dark kept info like this from him. Still, he knew there was no chance Dark had offed him, so he merely said, "Never mind, I don't want to know…yet." He'd ask more forcefully later. "And what's with that 'evil plan' that they're talking about?"

"You'll see," said Dark slyly. He instantlyslipped away before everybody approached Rex. Kevin stepped up and stared at Rex seriously.

"You're on," he said. He felt like his mouth was on autopilot.

Rex grinned. "Knock yourself out, but I'm warning you…I'm a good racer!" Acting more smug, he added, "And how long have you had your little cruise machine, Kevin? Hmm?"

Kevin frowned. "Nevermind."

"Fine," smiled Rex. "Just get your car ready. The race starts at 8 o'clock sharp."

Kevin looked up at the clock. It was already 7:30 PM.

"I'll be ready," he said.

"Oh, and may I make one quick recommendation, Kevin?"

"What's that?"

"Courage rides shotgun with you."

The stars began appearing in the Las Vegas sky outside.


	30. A Race Too Late: Part 1

"A Race Too Late - Part 1"

The "DING" of the elevator echoed across the Wild Kard Hotel's basement parking lot.

When the elevator doors opened, Kevin Henderson stepped out and looked around. At the far end, he could vaguely see his red Mustang waiting patiently for its driver to return. It was the only vehicle in the entire garage.

Without a word, Kevin walked in the direction of his car. As the elevator doors began to close, the dogs (Courage, Misty, and the Krew) exited the elevator and followed closely behind Kevin. Not far away, a stairway door opened. The former agents, Joe, Tortured Artist, and Cindy had taken the stairs "just to be on the safe side." They caught up with Kevin, who was still leading.

Kevin knew some them were having second thoughts about Rex's proposal. They had told Kevin that he must be out of his mind to accept it. Kevin understood, but he had had enough. He was fed up with being the pawn in Rex and Dark Sonic's little games. He couldn't believe Courage had survived years of this kind of torment from them. There was no running away from this. If Kevin wanted out, he'd have to force Rex to play by his own rules. Besides, if Dark found the last emerald, none of it would matter anyway.

As Kevin got closer to his car, he suddenly began wondering about his family. The last time he had called them was at the vet's office. After a lengthy conversation, he'd promised that he'd make it out of Vegas as soon as he could. Given the explosions and other occurrences that had happened recently, rumors of terrorism were running rampant. Kevin's parents were almost in hysterics to the point that they said they'd drive over to Vegas _themselves_ to bring Kevin home. Kevin somehow convinced them that he would be leaving as soon as he took care of Sandy at the vet. He had only told his parents that Sandy had sustained some "injuries" at the hotel and needed to be looked at. Besides, the last thing Kevin wanted was to put his family in any danger. He knew his family was probably hovering over the phone, wishing for their son to call. If he never did…

Kevin refused to think of that option.

At that moment, he was jarred out of his thoughts. Kevin had arrived at his Mustang and wordlessly unlocked the door. Just before he got in, a hand landed on his shoulder. Kevin turned adn was met face to face with Jonathan.

"Kevin," said Jonathan. His face (everyone's faces, in fact) had looks of grave concern. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Kevin stared at everyone…not just casual glances, but attempts at deciphering their true thoughts. They all thought he was crazy to attempt this. But Kevin had a feeling deep down that this was the only alternative. Theoretically, Kevin could get in his car and just drive off, but that wouldn't be making things better at all. He didn't want to leave everyone at the mercy of Rex and Dark Sonic. And Sandy…he wanted to know how she was doing…if she'd even survive. The vet had said she'd be fine, but Kevin had no way of knowing for sure. He'd given specific instructions for Sandy to return to the hotel as soon as she was released, but how long could that take? Hours? Days?

Kevin looked at Jonathan and seemed to transform instantly. All worry and negative premonitions seemed to be erased from his face. He relaxed his shoulders and let out a soft sigh.

"I have to do this," said Kevin in an almost spiritual tone. "If I don't, this is never going to end. Rex and Dark are just going to keep coming back again and again. I know Courage is fed up with it and I am too. All of us are. I also know Dark Sonic might find the final emerald before the night is over, but that doesn't matter to me anymore." Everyone was surprised by that last part. If Dark found the last emerald, there was no telling what would happen. How could Kevin say that didn't matter? Everyone began to speak up regarding his previous comment, but Kevin interrupted. "Look, Dark is someone who can change time itself if he wanted to. He's out of my control. At least with Rex, I can just manage to match wits with him. Besides, I think his violent personality is crumbling. Some of you viewed proof of that; some of you are already friends with him. Rex is someone who I think has a chance at being saved from himself." He turned to Cindy, who gave a small smile. "Now, I'm going to get into my car with Courage and do what I have to do. Nobody else needs to be here. Anybody who wants to leave can…"

"Kevin," interrupted Chris. He walked up to Kevin, nudged Jonathan aside, and put a hand on Kevin's other shoulder. "I think it's pretty obvious that nobody here is going anywhere."

"Yeah," said Darkest Moon. "We're all in this together, no matter how you look at it."

Tortured Artist and Gareth agreed.

"And you guys?" Kevin said to Joe and the Krew.

Joe shrugged. "Some things are more important than our jobs. I mean, what are some concerts compared to this?"

"Menial?" answered Humphrey. There was a pause.

"Yeah," said Psycho. "Just make sure both of you come back in one piece." He glanced over at Courage glaring at him before the pink dog wandered over to the Mustang's passenger side door.

Kevin opened the car door, but suddenly felt Misty hug his leg. At the same time, Cindy said to Kevin, "Be safe."

Kevin patted Misty's head as he answered Cindy. "Sure thing. And…sorry about that whole interrogation, I…"

"It's okay," said Cindy, apologetically. "Just doing your job, I suppose."

Kevin nodded. Just before he closed the door, Misty jumped into the car with lightning speed and gave Courage a huge hug. Courage hugged his sister back.

"Try not to do anything stupid out there," said Misty.

"Don't worry," said Courage. "Hopefully, my 'stupid dog' days are behind me now."

Misty nodded and exited the car. Kevin put the key into the ignition and started the car. The headlights sprang up from the hood and turned on. The engine echoed loudly for a moment before Kevin suddenly twisted the key back and killed the engine. He rolled down his automatic window and said to everyone. "Hey! Anybody want a ride out into the street? Plenty of room."

Seeing how it beat walking or going back through the hotel, everyone carefully began climbing onto Kevin's Mustang.

"You think this will affect the paint job?" asked Courage.

"That's the least of my worries," admitted Kevin.

Averaging about ten miles per hour, Kevin carefully maneuvered his way toward the exit, peeking between Cindy and Gareth to see where he was going. Once outside, he'd make his way to the street, let everyone off, meet up with Rex, and participate in the race of his life.

A couple miles away, Sandy opened her eyes.

She slowly sat up and immediately lay back down, dizzy from sitting up too fast. She looked around frantically. She appeared to be in some sort of dog-sized hospital room…no, a veterinarian office, to be exact. Sandy noticed that an IV tube was inserted into her arm and several strips of bandage were wrapped around her arms, legs, ribs, and the side of her head.

Sandy struggled to remember how she'd gotten here. The last thing she remembered was seeing Courage about to be hit by Mecha-Courage's giant mallet in the Wild Kard ballroom. She remembered diving to push Courage out of the way and…nothing. She must've received the full force of the impact and was knocked out. Sandy wondered how long she had been out.

At that moment, Sandy's eye caught a clock on the wall. The time read 7:54 PM. She had been unconscious all day!

Trying again, Sandy sat up a little slowly than before. She picked at the bandages. The wounds still felt sore. Sandy then fiddled with the intravenous needle. She tore off the gauze and began pulling the needle out of her artery. It felt very uncomfortable and she winced from the sudden jolt of pain, but Sandy quickly pulled it out and set it aside. She then wrapped the gauze back around the puncture on her arm.

A sound at the door suddenly caught Sandy's attention. She immediately caught sight of an African-American woman at the door. The woman looked surprised for a moment before a look of tremendous relief crossed her face. "You're awake," the woman said. "Are you okay?"

Sandy was too disoriented to say anything. She just nodded as she made her way to the edge of the operating table.

Pam cleared her throat as Sandy hopped down to the ground. The woman saw a look of pain cross the dog's face when she landed. Pam was glad that this dog was still alive, but she felt like the canine needed more time to rest. However, her owner and friends had made it very clear that once she was awake, she was to go to them immediately.

"They're worried about you," Pam said abruptly.

Sandy paused and looked up at Pam. She wanted to ask this person where everyone was, but before she could, Pam said, "They're waiting for you at the hotel."

Sandy nodded and made her way out of the room. She didn't know what had happened between now and when she was knocked out, but at the moment, all she was concerned about now was returning to the Wild Kard Hotel. Returning to Kevin…and Courage.

As she neared the front door of the vet, Sandy could hear Pam collecting her things behind her. Sandy wondered for a moment why that woman was the only one here. Sandy hoped that with all that happened today and yesterday, some attempt at an evacuation was underway. When she flew open the door, she saw that she was more than correct.

The entire city of Las Vegas looked like a ghost town. Empty buildings stood like barren mountains. Not one vehicle was on the streets, except far away on the interstate. Since it was night now, all the streetlights and traffic lights were on and blazing. The stars were scattered across the sky, surrounding a bright full moon. Down the road, Sandy could see all the exterior hotel lights on the Strip still radiating. No matter where she turned, not one person could be seen.

Pam and Sandy emerged into the parking lot. Both of them stopped and looked at each other. Pam knelt down and stared at the battered canine. "I'm evacuating right now," said Pam. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

Sandy nodded and barked simultaneously. Pam reached out and gave Sandy a small hug. Then Pam got in her car and headed for the nearest interstate onramp, while Sandy made a beeline for the Strip as fast as her paws could carry her.

8:00 PM

A small parade turned onto the Strip, heading north towards the front of the Wild Kard Hotel. Everyone was walking on both sides of Kevin's car and slowly making their way up the street. For a moment, nobody was sure where the race was going to begin. Eventually, everyone could see a large white chalk line in the road ahead. In no time, Kevin's red Mustang pulled up to the makeshift starting line. Since pretty much all of the city was abandoned by now, the Strip was like a ghost town...except every lightbulbremained on. Minimal debris and a few empty cars littered the pathway, but there wasn't too much to obstruct any attempts at car racing.

Kevin and Courage sat there in the car, waiting for their opponent to arrive. They had expected Rex to be waiting for them on the street, but Rex and Dark Sonic were nowhere to be seen. As the minutes ticked by, the tension grew. Courage considered turning on the radio, but one look at Kevin told him he was in no mood for music. Besides, it was unlikely any local stations were operating, what with the evacuation and all. Courage turned and looked out the window at everyone outside the car. Everyone was more or less milling around, trying to pass the time somehow, and waiting uncomfortably for their opponent.

Half and hour went by before Jonathan tapped the car window. Kevin rolled the window down with a curious look of concern.

"Where are they?" asked Jonathan. Kevin could see that judging from everyone else's faces, they were wondering the same thing.

Before Kevin could answer, he heard something. A deep, low rumble like thunder could be heard in the distance. Everyone stood up and looked around. The sound was getting louder and was audible in continuous bursts. The ground suddenly began to vibrate in a rhythmic manner, like a heavy bass-line, growing increasingly louder with each passing second.

Suddenly, two headlights appeared behind Kevin's car a few hundred yards back. Kevin and Courage looked in the rearview mirror, but car's extra-bright headlights switched on, blinding them. Cursing out loud, Kevin and Courage blinked their eyes before turning around to look out the rear window. The car's headlights began blinking in sync with the beats and coming nearer and nearer.

"Is that…?" asked Kevin to Courage.

Courage nodded. "Sure is."

By the time the new car could be identified, Kevin and Courage noticed that everyone huddled around the Mustang so that everyone would get a decent view of the rival car once it pulled along side of Kevin's car. When it finally did, all anyone could do was stare.

Everybody gawked in awe as a shiny blue Dodge Viper pulled up next to Kevin's Mustang. Techno music blasted out the car speakers, but the windows were up which muted the music slightly. This ultra-modified Viper was unlike any car Kevin had ever seen. It was unique because it had six wheels; an extra set of enlarged rear wheels was visible behind the regular rear wheels, which increased the length of the vehicle. Even more unusual was what looked like a small helicopter tail extending from the rear of the car, as well as an extendable helicopter propeller on the roof. All over the exterior of the Viper were bulges and additions that seemed to be inspired from every Bond film ever made.

"What the…?" asked Kevin, eyeing the helicopter additions.

"He'd better not be using those," said Courage.

The Viper stopped about ten feet to the left of the Mustang. The windows were tinted so nobody could see inside. Nobody could even say a word over the pounding bass, but before anyone could do anything about it, the engine suddenly switched off, killing the lights and music.

The passenger door swung open. Out stepped Rex with a big grin on his face. His wardrobe had changed slightly. He was now wearing a leather jacket, tan slacks, and shades (plus the bracelet.) Before he slammed the car door, Kevin caught a brief glimpse of Dark Sonic at the wheel, glaring at him.

Rex walked over to Kevin's car, feeling glad that nobody made any move to stop him. Kevin rolled the window down as Rex looked the Mustang over.

"Not a bad set of wheels you got there, Kevy," said Rex.

"What's with the 'Intimidation-mobile?'" asked Kevin, in a smart-alecky voice.

"What, that old thing?" answered Rex, turning to his Viper. "Nah, that's just the only thing I could find on such short notice." Rex leaned over and rested his arms on the door chassis. "You ready?"

Kevin frowned, but before he could respond, Courage said, "I don't suppose you have a map of the race route, do you?"

"Well, as a matter of fact," said Rex, his arms darting behind his back, "I do." He brought his arms back around and held out a tourist map of the Vegas Strip. Rex handed the map over to Kevin, who snatched it and held it so that both he and Courage could look at it.

The race route was drawn out in red ink on the map. The route was basically a big, oblong circle going north up the interstate and double backing down the Strip towards the finish. There was a circle of ink at the bottom of the map where the race started. It was directly on the Strip, right in front of the Luxor and right where Rex and Kevin's vehicles were currently parked. Kevin noticed that the Wild Kard Hotel wasn't even on the map, which was no surprise. The route ran from the starting line about one block north on the Strip, past the Tropicana and Excalibur Hotels before making a sudden turn to the left on Tropicana Ave. This led directly to Interstate 15, where the route suddenly turned from west to north on I-15. After three or four exits, the route turned right off the interstate onto Sahara Ave. The route traveled east until it reached the Strip. The Sahara was on that intersection and the Stratosphere was only a couple blocks north from there. The final leg of the route traveled south down the Strip, past all the extravagant hotels and casinos, heading right back to the starting line.

"The scenic route," said Rex, grinning again.

Kevin gave the map to Courage in the passenger seat. "Here, navigator," said Kevin before turning to Rex. "Well, let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit," said Rex jovially. "Now get out."

"What?" asked Kevin, confused.

"C'mon, get out so we can do this maturely and professionally."

"Do what?"

"Y'know…shake hands, explain the rules, that sort of thing. Get all that out of the way before we get serious."

Kevin didn't answer. Rex took a couple steps back so Kevin could open the door. When he finally did, Kevin slowly and methodically closed the door behind him. He and Courage walked right up to Rex and said, "Go ahead." As if in a trance, everyone wandered a little closer towards the two racers.

Rex cleared his throat. Behind him, Dark pulled the window down so he could hear. "I trust everyone here already knows the basics of this little competition. Since I don't want to repeat myself, I will say that I'm trying to give Kevin here a fairer advantage. I'm not going to be using the helicopter rotors to overtake you or take any aerial shortcuts with them. You and I must stick to the route or we'll be disqualified. Winner takes all, etcetera etcetera. So, you agree to these terms and conditions?"

Kevin stared on as Rex offered him his hand. Kevin and Courage looked at each other and paused. This wastheir final chance out. Kevin turned to his allies and turned back to his enemies. It was at that moment that Kevin realized that this was the perfect opportunity to tell Rex about Dark Sonic's plan, since he was still unaware of it. However, since Dark was in the car behind him, he didn't want to know what would happen if Dark overheard him explaining it to Rex. It wouldn't be pretty, for one thing. If there were any time to tell the whole story, it would have to be after the race, before Dark could find the final emerald.

Kevin reached out and shook Rex's hand. "Agreed."

Inside the Viper, Dark Sonic was almost at the end of his rope. He could not take much more of these delays. He was so close…so very close to acquiring the final emerald. His mind repeated the riddle over and over in his mind like a skipping CD:

"_From ancient times and ancient places_

_One-eyed men and sideways faces_

_The final emerald, the final feast_

_Is in the eye of the ancient beast._"

Dark pounded his fists against his forehead. How was it possible for him not being able to solve four simple lines of poetry? The answer was obvious: "No pure heart, no emerald." Dark had figured he was patient enough to wait it out until just the right moment to apprehend someone with a pure heart to solve the riddle for him. However, that moment had never arrived. Dark had always ended up getting sidetracked either by himself or someone else.

"Damn this procrastination," said Dark as he reached over to turn the key once so that he could turn on the A/C without turning on the car engine. His patience had all but dried up, and he stared out the window at Rex still talking to his opponents. Mentally, Dark cursed at them to hurry up. He could easily go out there and force someone to solve the riddle for him, but the fact that Rex_still_ didn't know about the emeralds was the only obstacle. There was no telling what Rex would do if he found out his long-time friend was deceiving him. There were ways to avoid that outcome, stopping time for example, but that took a lot of energy to pull off. Once he recovered the final emerald, however…

Finally, just as Dark considered bursting out of the car and demanding somebody to solve the final riddle, Rex and Kevin turned and walked back to their cars.

"What the hell took so long?" demanded Dark once Rex once he was inside.

"Just some last-minute starting procedures," said Rex motioning ahead. Dark looked down the road and groaned.

About twenty feet ahead of the two cars, Cindy stood facing the vehicles. In traditional "Fast and the Furious" style, Cindy held a giant checkered flag in each hand.

"Where the hell did she get those?" Dark asked, referring to the flags.

"Oh, I always keep them around for emergencies," said Rex. "I kinda wish she was wearing something skimpier though."

Dark let out a weighty sigh.

In the Mustang, Kevin looked at Courage and said, "You think everyone should be alright?"

Courage looked at everyone standing on the sidewalk, looking anxious and eager for the race to be over with. Misty especially looked concerned.

"I don't know," answered Courage.

"Gentlemen!" screamed Cindy, alerting both drivers. "Start your engines!"

Rex and Kevin both turned their ignition keys. Instantly, Rex's Viper roared to life, drowning out Kevin's Mustang's V8 engine. Kevin wondered how many cylinders were in Rex's engine. Kevin wouldn't be surprised if there were more, given the loudness of the engine.

Rex instinctively let out a whoop of excitement. "I feel just like Vin! 'Fast and Furious!'" Rex reached back in his seat, searching for something. Before Dark could react, Rex brought out an electronic megaphone, rolled down the window, and leaned out while grabbing the roof so that he was facing Kevin's car.

"Yea! Hey, Kev!" shouted Rex, his voice somehow blaring over the engines. After his "Fast and Furious" comment, he couldn't resist adding some more Vin Diesel references. "When we're done beating you, I'll send you a 'XXX' movie so you can watch it in your 'Pitch Black' hotel room!"

Courage only slapped his forehead, whining under he breath. How could Rex crack jokes at a time like this? He wondered how Kevin would react.

To his complete surprise, Courage watched Kevin roll down his window, cup his hands over his mouth, and scream at the top of his lungs, "Hey, Rex! After we beat you, I think you're gonna need…a 'Pacifier'!"

Courage almost busted out laughing when he saw the exasperated look on Rex's face after Kevin's comment.

Kevin rolled the window back up.

"I think you made him mad," said Courage, swallowing his chuckles.

"Whatever happens, it was worth it just to see that look on his smug face," said Kevin to Courage, giggling.

A voice nearby snapped Rex out of his reaction to Kevin's ingenious response. "Can we get started!" shouted Cindy. "My arms are getting tired!" Cindy had been raising both flags for a couple minutes by now.

"Sorry," Rex said as he got back inside.

"Brilliant diversionary tactics, captain," said Dark, sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up," said Rex, as he kept his eyes on the checkered flags in the air. He knew this was a win-win situation. If he lost, which he had no intention of doing, he'd follow his word and leave Courage forever. If he won…Rex actually wasn't sure. He had previously threatened to harm Courage's love, Sandy, if he did, but Rex didn't even know where Sandy _was_ at the moment. Remember, Dark was the one who had threatened Sandy at the vet, not Rex. Also, he'd said he'd stay in Vegas to manage his hotel, but after the terrorist scares today, the tourist industry in Vegas would be hit hard. It would be impossible for a new hotel to stay in business. Rex frantically tried to think of what to do when he won, but came up with nothing. Rex decided to leave it be for now. Maybe he'd think of something during the race.

"On your mark!" said Cindy.

Kevin gripped the wheel of his Mustang. "I must be crazy," muttered Kevin to himself.

"Oh, _now_ you admit it!" said Courage in shock.

"Get set!" said Cindy, lifting the flags higher.

Courage dug his claws into his seat and whined. Here he was, sitting in the passenger seat of a high-performance vehicle with a mentally crazed driver about to race a far superior Viper/chopper driven by his highly unstable enemy and a passenger who was more than likely going to cause the Apocalypse once this was all over.

"No good shall come of this," said Courage to himself. In the instant before Kevin slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, Courage thought of everyone outside watching the race. He thought of Muriel and Eustace. He thought of Sandy…god, he didn't even say good-bye to her. Courage prayed for a miracle…

"GO!" screamed Cindy as she brought the flags down.

Far away, a voice said, "Was that a request?"

"No," said a second voice. "We must wait a little while longer."

"The rest of us are growing anxious," said the first voice. "It will not be long until the inevitable happens."

"Too soon," said the second voice. "We shall not let this happen ahead of schedule. For now we watch…and wait. It won't be long now."

_To be continued…_


	31. A Race Too Late: Part 2

"A Race Too Late – Part 2"

The race only took twenty minutes from start to finish. But to everyone present, it felt like an eternity.

The initial sound was deafening; wheels screaming against the asphalt, the engines roaring. Cindy's paws covered her ears as both cars passed on either side of her, their exhausts kicking up dust and making her outfit billow. She immediately ran back to the side of the road where the others were waiting for her. They all watched the two vehicles zoom down the right side of the Strip for a couple thousand feet. When the vehicles were no longer visible, nobody said a word for a few moments.

"Okay, now what?" asked Misty.

Psycho shrugged. "I guess we wait."

Kevin's foot slammed on the gas pedal as he and Courage were pressed against their seats. They zoomed forward, the trees and buildings rushing past them. Kevin instantly looked over and was surprised to see Rex and Dark Sonic right next to them, keeping pace with their car. Kevin's eyes kept darting from the road to Dark's smug face in the car window.

Courage was plastered against the seat, his eyes darting over to the speedometer pushing 60 and beyond. This idea was crazy. He knew a regular Viper could outperform a Mustang, and it was anyone's guess as to how much more superior Rex's car was.

"He's toying with us," mumbled Courage. "He's going this slow on purpose."

Kevin nodded. He figured Courage was right, but he knew he had to finish this race anyway. He hated to think what would happen if he just gave up.

Naturally, Rex was smiling at his imminent victory, thoroughly enjoying the roar of his car's engine.

"Why are you keeping up with him? You can easily leave them in the dust!" Dark yelled, glancing back out the passenger window at Kevin and Courage.

A frustrated growl rumbled in Rex's throat. "Because it'll make their defeat less painful if I make it seem like they made an effort! Remember what Vin said," and Rex's voice dipped to a low, mangled voice ala Mr. Diesel, "Drift on the turns and save your nitro for the straight-aways."

With that, both cars were suddenly coming up on the first turn. Kevin grunted when he realized that he would be taking the outside of the turn. He didn't know a thing about drifting or any such maneuvers. The steering wheel jostled in Kevin's hands as he briefly decelerated and turned the wheel to the left. Kevin seemed to struggle with jerking the car into the turn, while Rex obviously had no problem turning the car almost sideways and slid into the turn like it was nothing.

"That show-off." Kevin muttered, adjusting the car as they exited the curve. Courage only nodded in agreement.

No longer on the Strip, the street was free from a median filled with palm trees. A quarter of a mile later, Kevin's eye spotted an Interstate 15 sign on the right side of the road. Sure enough, the interstate overpass was fast approaching. Kevin's car rapidly slowed down in order to zoom onto the turnoff and onto the interstate.

"Wooooooo!" whooped Kevin suddenly.

"Where did Rex's car get to?" asked Courage.

"Back there!" said Kevin, looking in the rear-view mirror. Sure enough, Rex's car was keeping pace directly behind him.

Kevin's car roared onto the freeway, completely devoid of any vehicles. This allowed the perfect chance to push the Mustang to its limit.

Speeding down Interstate 15 behind Kevin, Rex licked his lips in anticipation as he finally reached for the gearshift. He flipped up the top of the shift to reveal a red button.

"I thought you said you weren't going to use the helicopter parts?" Dark asked, knowing Rex was never one to keep his word anyway.

Rex grinned, eyeing a different button that activated the car's attachments that converted the Viper into a fully automated helicopter. "And I'm not! I'm going to use this instead!"

Rex pressed the button.

At that moment, Kevin glanced at the rearview mirror again just in time to see a shocking sight. Rex's Viper seemed to come apart, much like the car the Men In Black drove. Missile-shaped rockets folded out of the back and fired up, with Kevin's car as the target.

"That dirty, cheating, son of a…" grumbled Kevin, his grip tightening on the wheel.

The roar of twin turbo jets cut off the rest of Kevin's sentence. Like a firecracker, Rex's car rocketed past Kevin's car in blaze of fire and smoke.

"Let's do this!" Kevin muttered, slamming the gas as hard as he could. The Mustang was pushed to its limit, clocking almost 150mph and climbing.

"This is insane! You'll never outrun him at that rate!" shouted Courage.

But Kevin tried his best to keep up with Rex. In fact, it wasn't long before Rex's car appeared to be slowing down for some reason. For a moment, Kevin wondered if Rex was slowing down on purpose or not.

Just then, as his car was approaching the interstate bridge over Sahara Avenue, Rex did the unthinkable. With an abrupt turn of the steering wheel, Rex drove his car off the edge of the overpass, landing perfectly on Sahara below.

"Dammit!" Kevin cursed, slamming the wheel with the palm of his hand.

Courage only shook his head. "I knew he was going to do that. He-… wait, wha-?" A scream followed as Courage realized with was happening now.

Kevin followed! He actually drove off the bridge at the exact angle Rex had gone and landed below!

Kevin's stomach recovered from the brief sensation of weightlessness and glanced over to see Courage was coming down from a "freak-out" high.

"Sorry," Kevin muttered.

Courage only nodded, still gasping for air after all that screaming.

Back in the Viper, Rex looked in the rearview mirror. "Well, I am impressed!" Rex noted as he saw Kevin catching up behind him. "But I won't be for long!"

A press of another button caused a flurry of tacks to spread all over the road.

"Oh, for-… what is this, Mario Kart?" shouted Kevin, seeing the tacks in the road ahead of him. Kevin swerved, thinking he'd missed all of them, but he could feel his left front tire shuddering slightly. Still, he wasn't going to give up.

"Dad's going to kill me if he found out about this," whispered Kevin under his breath before rolling down his window and yelling out the window toward Rex's car, "You said you wouldn't cheat!"

Somehow, Rex heard him because he suddenly veered to the left and stuck a large megaphone out the window. "I said I wouldn't use the helicopter parts, or take any shortcuts! So sue me!" Rex yelled back though his megaphone.

Before Kevin could even respond, Rex's Viper slammed on the brakes until he was right beside Kevin's car. Kevin tried to avoid Rex's car, but while taking a sharp ninety-degree turn, Rex's car slammed into the side of Kevin's Mustang, trying to shove him off the road. Courage, despite having his seatbelt as tight as he could get it, was still violently tossed around.

Once they were back on a straightaway, Rex grinned. A press of yet another button caused the right side wheels to open up and metal, claw-like devices emerged form the hubcaps. Kevin instantly figured out what those were for.

"That unoriginal bastard is using every cliché in the book!" he seethed.

Indeed, Kevin was right in his assumption. The claws began to chew away at the hubcaps of Kevin's left tires.

"Watch out!" shouted Courage.

"I'm trying!!" responded Kevin. But it wasn't easy, considering they were driving about 90 miles an hour and Kevin kept trying not to spin out of control. Rex's clawed devices periodically scraped the side of Kevin's car.

"Quit it!" yelled Kevin, in a useless attempt to get Rex to stop. "I defiantly need to get this repaired before I get home, Dad's going to kill me!" Kevin said to himself.  
Courage on the other hand, couldn't believe how calm Kevin was being under the circumstances. Anyone else would be a pile of loose nerves, while Kevin was just merely sounding aggravated. Almost like he had an ace up his sleeve or something.

"Time to break out the NITRO!!!" Rex said as he approached the turn onto Maryland Parkway. NITRO stood for Neo Internal Triple Rocket Outboard. Apparently Rex had been watching too much Kids Next Door.

With the flip of a switch, two smaller rockets suddenly emerged from the rear sides of his Viper and one from the roof. They quickly fired up.

"MORE ROCKETS?!" Kevin shouted, suddenly sounding more perturbed. He leaned out the window and shouted sarcastically, "THAT THING GOT A HEMI?!"  
Rex only smiled at Kevin's meager attempt to sound casual about his fate. He replied back though his megaphone. "YEAH! AND SO DO THE ROCKETS!"

"Great, that's all I needed to know," Kevin grumbled, and yet a grin suddenly appeared on his face, making Courage look at him in confusion.

Kevin only smiled at the dog and pressed a button of his own. To Courage's surprise, the car went faster.

"I had Cindy take the liberty of installing a Nitro kit for me before the race. She knew Rex wouldn't play fair."

Courage actually smiled for the first time that night.

Meanwhile, back at the starting line, Cindy and the others waited patiently for Courage, Kevin, and Rex to return.

Cindy had gone back into the Wild Kard Hotel to get something to drink, and was walking back to the street when a voice behind her startled her. She turned to see who it was.

It was Sandy. She had run all the way from the vet's office as the race was going on and was just now arriving at the Wild Kard Hotel.

"Where's Courage? Where is everyone?" she asked Cindy.

Cindy wasn't sure what to make of Sandy. This was actually the first time the two of them had ever met each other. Cindy realized by her appearance and the tone of her voice that Sandy must've known Courage.

"They… they should be back any moment," said Cindy. "I'll fill you in on the details. C'mon."

With that, Cindy and Sandy made their way back to the others.

At that moment, Card Trick opened his eyes to darkness… or at least, partial darkness. His head and back were jolted with pain. He let out a groan as he tried to get to his feet. The room he was in was small and uncomfortable and…occupied.

Card Trick instantly sensed someone else inside the room with him. He blinked to get better adjusted to the darkness. His eyes fell on a large man lying a few feet away from him in the corner. He was drowsily tossing aside some rope as he blinked too.

"Hey," said Card Trick to the man. "Who are you?"

The man looked at the rabbit and said, "You're awake too, huh?" He shifted position.

"Where the hell are we?" asked Card Trick. He rubbed the back of his pain-filled head. The last thing he remembered was being thrown across the security room by Dark Sonic. He must've hit the wall or the TVs or something.

"I'm not sure," said Allen. He slowly got to his feet and reached for the door. "It's locked."

"Here, watch out," said Card Trick, moving the man aside. It took him three tries before his powerful legs kicked open the door.

"Thanks," said the man as he stepped out into the hall. "My name's Allen."

"Card Trick," said the rabbit. "How the hell did you end up in there?"

"I don't know," said Allen, rubbing his head. "I was in my tour bus, and-"

"You drive a tour bus?" asked Card Trick, surprised. "Would it happen to be for a band of canines?"

"Yeah," said Allen. "How'd you know?"

"Long story, buddy. Right now, we've got to go and…" Card Trick paused, a little uncertain about what to do next.

"We gotta get back to the bus and call my band," said Allen. He walked a bit down the hall and stopped. The surroundings looked a bit familiar. "Where are we?"

"We're in the Wild Kard Hotel," said Card Trick. "That much I know. I think the lobby is… that way. Follow me."

Not seeing any other better idea, Allen nodded, hungry and exhausted, and followed Card Trick.

Back on the raceway, Rex approached the turn leading into Tropicana Avenue, and Kevin was closing in. They were almost in the home stretch!

"You haven't been saying much," said Rex to his passenger.

Dark Sonic glowered. "My apologies," growled Dark Sonic sarcastically. "Would it help if I lighten the load for you?"

Before Rex could answer, Dark opened the passenger door and fell out onto the street. Rex looked back over his shoulder through the window, but Dark had disappeared.

Rex maintained his present course slightly confused. Something about Dark's voice told him that he was fed up with something and had other plans about something.

But at that moment, he had other things to focus on. He took the last turn and was bumped from behind by Kevin's nitro-powered car. Rex straightened out and saw Kevin right beside him, accelerating.

Squinting, Rex could see the Wild Kard Hotel off in the distance.

"Home stretch, baby," mumbled Rex.

Rex and Kevin, stomped their accelerator pedals and roared down the road, moments away from the finish line.


	32. Apex

"Apex"

Sandy ran down the sidewalk as fast as her battered body could go without collapsing. The aching in her lungs and the painful aches inside and on her body were masked by her fear and worry concerning everyone else back at the hotel.

Sandy had left the animal hospital some time ago. The lights from the Vegas Strip in the distance guiding her, the pink canine ran in that direction, racing past emptied buildings and litter-strewn streets. It was an eerie feeling, running through a city that was unusually busy this time of night during any normal night. Block after block, more of the same: buildings standing as silent as tombstones, lights blazing, "We're Closed" signs in some windows.

A gust of wind blew Sandy against a street pole, making her stop to catch her breath. Gasping for air, she looked around and was about to continue when she suddenly heard a roar off in the distance. It sounded like a muffle-less car engine revving up. Sandy turned her head in the direction it was coming from and realized that it was getting closer. Lying back against the pole, all Sandy could do was stand there, nervousness and curiosity clenching her throat.

"Who could be driving their car through here?" her mind whispered. "Everyone was supposed to be evacuated."

By now, she could feel the vibrations from the engine through the ground and then the pole itself. Sandy now realized there was a second car engine being masked by the first one. Sandy steadied herself and determined that the cars were actually not driving down the street where she was currently at, but was actually one street over to her left. With a gulp, the bruised dog made her way to the intersection in front of her and peeked around the corner of the building.

She was just in time to get bombarded by a blast of one car's motor as the vehicle rocketed by, one block away from where Sandy was standing. It was a split-second streak of rubber, metal, and glass, but Sandy could tell it was a very loud high-performance vehicle. A second later, a second streak of red zoomed past, pursuing the first car, it's motor slightly quieter. The sounds of the two cars grew quieter in the distance, an occasional screeching of their tires interrupting the motors.

Sandy was not entirely sure why two cars seemed to be driving around a place that was supposed to be evacuated. As much as she wanted to believe it was just some local street racers, a sickening feeling in her gut told her that somehow Courage, Kevin, Rex, or any of the others were behind it. Or maybe it was just the feeling of nausea in her gut that was troubling her ever since she left the hospital.

Sighing with frustration, Sandy crossed the road and continued on her way, block after block, until a sign told her that the Strip was straight ahead, a multi-lane highway not far ahead, the traffic lights blinking yellow, on and off.

"Almost there," she muttered to herself.

As soon as Rex and Kevin's cars dropped out of sight, everyone stood together at first, but then receded into separate clusters, waiting anxiously for their return.

Joe, glad to finally have some time to calm down and think clearly, sat on the curb of the median underneath a palm tree. He rubbed his head to calm a sudden migraine. The bandleader glanced over to see Psycho drearily sit on the curb next to him. The other four band mates followed suit. Not far away, Jonathan paced nervously back and forth in the street. He couldn't stop thinking about Kevin and Courage (neither could anyone else, he realized), and couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else. Nearby, his friends Chris, Gareth, and D.M. were sitting on the curb by the sidewalk. Tortured Artist sort of ambled from group to group, not really participating or saying anything, just trying to be in the presence of those who understood what he was feeling. He finally wandered over to Courage's sister, Misty, and patter her head in reassurance before finally making his way over to Cindy where he stayed.

Nobody said anything for the longest time because there really wasn't much to say. Jonathan and D.M. briefly told Misty that her brother would be fine. Tortured Artist asked what time it was, which caused Joe to tell everyone how long the race had been going on. Other than that, not much was spoken for the first fifteen minutes.

The night was unusually serene, some of them noticed… a nice full moon in the star-studded sky with billowy clouds encircling the horizon. It actually would've been quite relaxing if it had been any other night.

"You really think this race is going to prove anything?" Psycho suddenly asked his band mates.

RX, Humphrey, Gina, and Daisy glanced at Psycho, pausing, not sure how to answer.

"I hope so," said RX quietly. The other band members said nothing, but seemed to be in agreement.

The minutes ticked by slowly. The tension in the air was stretched tighter and tighter. Everyone began to grow more and more restless.

Finally, right when it seemed like someone was going to crack from waiting so long, a loud pop in the distance made everyone turn their heads. The roar of a car engine several miles away was the first indication that the two racers were coming back to the finish line. Something to finally break the monotony of waiting, everyone began wandering over to the finish line itself.

Cindy was just about to follow everyone else when a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye made her stop. She stopped and looked to her left, back down the road in the opposite direction from where the car racers would be appearing.

A small pink dot was making its way down a small vacant lot, heading directly towards Cindy. The closer it got, the more bewildered Cindy became. When it finally approached her, Cindy was wracked with confusion and curiosity.

Sandy, who by now was close to falling to the ground with exhaustion, panted heavily as she stumbled and scrambled over to the crowd… or at least to the tall raccoon-ish figure that was closest. It didn't look particularly menacing, and Sandy didn't recognize her as anyone she knew, so she figured that it was safe to approach her.

Cindy didn't know what to say when Sandy stopped in front of her, weak and obviously tired from traveling a considerable distance. To Cindy, this dog looked very similar to Courage, but female and a different fur color, somewhat similar to his sister, Misty. But Cindy looked over to where Misty and all the others were standing. They were all too preoccupied with seeing the cars entering the home stretch to notice Sandy and Cindy. Cindy scratched her head, still struck with uncertainty… and for good reason.

Sandy and Cindy had never once met each other before this very moment.

"W-who are you?" asked Cindy finally, with much inquisitiveness.

Once Sandy finally caught her breath, she roughly said her name before plopping down on the sidewalk.

Cindy vaguely remembered hearing one of the others say her name several hours ago, but had nearly forgotten about it. It was clear that Sandy was with the others and possibly knew Courage as well.

As if to prove that point, Sandy asked, "Where's Courage?"

At that very moment, another loud car engine revved in the distance, this time much closer than before. Cindy and Sandy jerked their heads in that direction.

"He's… he'll be along in a few moments," said Cindy. "In fact, he and Kevin should be-…"

"Kevin? Where is he?" asked Sandy, suddenly finding new strength to get back onto her feet.

"He and Courage are racing Rex and Dark Sonic around the city."

"What?! Why?!"

Before Cindy could explain, two headlights far off into the distance suddenly appeared, wiggling in the heat, a dot of red surrounding them.

"Ohhh, geez, this is not good!" said Sandy. "I gotta go find out what's going on and what's been going on since before I arrived in the hospital." The memory of the confrontation at the Wild Kard Hotel suddenly came back to mind, just before she got knocked out. The memory only propelled her forward more as she and Cindy began to head back to the others.

Down the road, Kevin had just rounded the final turn at almost 80 mph, tires squealing as he straightened the car out and barreled down the final stretch of road.

"This is it!" shouted Kevin, his adrenaline pumping. "The home stretch! Ha ha!"

Courage gripped the seat tight. Kevin was almost having too much fun with this race, especially during the last quarter. He gulped and moaned with frustration and nausea as he glanced out the side-view mirror and saw a whirl of car and smoke. Rex's Viper had just spun 270 degrees, tires screaming and kicking up smoke, before stopping and aiming at Kevin's receding taillights.

Rex pulled the parking brake, slammed the accelerator, and caused a burnout, the car's rear tires squealing and spinning insanely fast while in place, effectively balding the tires.

"Time for one final trick," the armadillo muttered with a wicked smile, licking his lips. Taking a deep breath in preparation, Rex released the parking brake, and shot forward with the entire car's built up momentum. Pressing one last button was all he needed to do.

Back at the finish line, everyone was eagerly standing directly next to the finish line, waiting to see who would cross the finish line first. It was Jonathan who first heard a commotion behind him. He turned to see who it was, shouted out "Hey!" and alerted the others. Everyone turned and exclaimed out loud upon seeing Sandy running towards them with Cindy close behind her. They all approached the two, everyone asking Sandy how she was doing and if she was okay. Sandy was too overwhelmed to make a clear answer, but before anyone could make one, a screech down the road made everyone snap their attentions back to the race.

Kevin's familiar Mustang pulled into view, coming ever closer, bringing a wash of relief over Sandy that this random chaos was coming to an end and Kevin had won. Everyone began to cheer and holler at Kevin, when all of their joy was suddenly sucked away in one fleeting moment.

Out of nowhere, a loud "POW" boomed through the street. In a move almost impossible to anyone else, Sandy gasped in horror as a blue Viper with six wheels managed to vault itself high over Kevin's car. Kevin and Courage barely managed to say, "What the?" after hearing the blast behind them before they saw the underside of Rex's Viper flying over them through the moonroof.

"Ohhhh, hell no!" shouted Kevin out loud.

"Look out!" shouted Chris back at the finish line as it became obvious that Rex's car was flying right at them. They all immediately began to run away from the finish line, away from the oncoming vehicle.

Like a perfectly executed Hollywood stunt, the Viper sailed in a perfect arc over Kevin's Mustang, its elongated suspension unable to keep the car from landing hard onto the pavement, landing mere feet away from the finish line.

"Watch out!" shouted Courage, the car he was in racing up to the Viper at a frightening pace. Kevin turned the car to the left, trying to speed up to pass the Viper before reaching the finish line.

"Nonono!!" yelled Kevin as he realized he wasn't going to have enough speed to pass Rex in time.

All the others ran for cover as Rex's car skidded sideways across the finish line, Kevin's car almost right beside him. As the Mustang finally passed the Viper, Rex's car flipped, losing a couple of tires in the process. All of its windows shattered as it rolled, spilling shards all over the road that glittered in the moonlight, adding a surreal effect to the car after sliding over the finish line, stealing home. Both cars came to a halt a few hundred yards away from the line, the Viper coming to rest on its roof.

Courage stumbled out onto the street once the car had come to a complete stop, thankful to be on solid ground again. From his perspective, he was unsure as to who the victor was, and it took him a moment to gather his bearings.

Hearing everyone's cries of foul and a few choice obscenities in the distance, Rex casually stepped from the smoldering vehicle as if nothing had happened; any scratch on him was instantly healed or in the process of healing. He spotted the small mob of spectator running towards him, harrumphed, and brushed himself off.

Before he or anyone else could say a word, Kevin threw open his door and fell onto the road. He got right back up, wobbly and grunting with exhaustion, and stormed up to the armadillo. He noticed that Rex was slightly taller than him, but it didn't matter as Kevin stumbled up to where Rex stood, breathing heavily, and looked into Rex's eyes, anger building.

"Wh… what the hell?!" Kevin shouted, his clothes drenched and knees wobbling. "You-you… said you wouldn't cheat..."

Rex looked almost insulted by Kevin's accusation. "If I remember correctly, I said I wouldn't use the helicopter parts. Or did you miss that statement back there?"

"Wh-what?!" shouted Kevin, his fists clenching and his mind dizzily swimming in a sea of black and red. All his thoughts were directed on his dog, Sandy. She was the whole reason Kevin had challenged Rex in the first place, and he failed because of some cheating scumbag?

Courage, by now, and come up beside Kevin and noticed how off-centered he looked. "Hey, Kevin, you okay? You don't look so g-…"

Before Courage could finish his sentence, Kevin's fist made contact with the armadillo's muzzle in a stunningly fast move, sending Rex collapsing to the ground. Courage gasped in surprise and horror, unable to move.

As Rex tried to pull himself off the ground, he felt a sudden weight across his back, and managed to roll over into another flurry of punches from Kevin, who seemed lost in his violent reaction.

"Dude! Chill! It's only a race!" Rex managed to utter between punches. "Sandy will still get help! I'm not a total ass!"

Kevin suddenly paused in his outburst after hearing Rex's shouts. By this point, everyone else had reached Rex, Kevin, and Courage, amazed to see the scuffle occurring right in front of them. Jonathan, who reached them first, took the opportunity for the pause in the action to grab Kevin violently. He and the other former agents pulled and dragged a now bewildered Kevin off of Rex. Psycho ran over to help a battered Rex up off the ground.

Right behind Psycho was Cindy, who rushed over to Rex, panting for air. "Rex! Are you okay?"

Casually standing and dusting himself off, Rex glanced over at Cindy to signal he was just fine, only to see none other than Sandy herself just behind Cindy's leg.

"Oh," said Rex, seeing Sandy. "Well, look who came all this way! Looks like she don't need help after all!"

Rex's words made Kevin jerk his head in the same direction, and in the blink of an eye, all the rage melted from his face. Tossing aside his assault on Rex or even the existence of the others around him, Kevin practically leaped over to Sandy with his arms wide open. He inadvertently squeezed her too hard at first, but relaxed upon hearing her squeak from her aches.

Suddenly sickened by the very saccharine scene before him, Dark Sonic decided enough was enough. He was tired of screwing around. They had their fun, now it was time he was entitled to his...

He had already gotten information from Courage, Misty, and Tortured Artist. All he needed now was one more of these saps, one with a pure heart, to help him solve the very last riddle, but which one? After a moment of intense deliberation, the possibilities of choice victims were narrowed down to Psycho. Dark smiled. It was bitter irony that Rex's best friend would aid in his world-ending masterpiece. A final brush stroke in what would be a work of art.

Obviously, Dark didn't want to reveal himself in front of everybody, so a much different tactic would be necessary… one that Dark had no attempted for a very long time. It would take a lot of energy and much convincing, but he could pull it off...

"Psst!" he whispered.

Psycho heard the sound coming from his right, and turned away from Kevin and Sandy's tearful reunion.

"Psst! Psycho!"

Curious at to what it could be, the white-eyed canine wandered off from the crowd to investigate.  
Gina noticed Psycho wandering off slightly. "Psy?" she asked, but Psycho didn't seem to hear her.

"What do you...?"

Suddenly, at that instant, Psycho didn't hear anything. Absolutely nothing. It was as if somebody had pressed the mute button to the entire world. No wind. No voices. Nothing. Psycho gasped, wondering if he'd gone deaf, but then he realized he could hear himself gasp. He turned around to ask the others what had happened… but then he gasped ever louder.

Everyone was completely frozen in place.

Psycho's mind and mouth struggled to comprehend what he was seeing. "Wh-wh-wha-…?"

Just then, a black-gloved hand grabbing the back of his neck cut off psycho's words. The words "Pssst… Psyyyyychoooo…" whispered in his ear before he was hoisted off the ground by the neck, turned around, and found himself staring straight into the red eyes of Dark Sonic.

"Hey, there doggy," he said slyly.

Psycho's words caught in his throat, before he stammered, "Who-… wh-wh-what do you want, D-dark?"

"Hey! You remember who I am," grinned Dark. "Good dog. I'd give you a doggy treat, but I'm the one who actually deserves a little treat. You see…" Dark took an overdramatic breath. "I've got a little riddle I'd like you to solve for me."

Psycho dimly recalled hearing something about Dark Sonic searching for riddles back when he'd been in the vet waiting room, but at the moment he was too shocked to recall it clearly. "W-huh?"

Impatience clearly showing, Dark grabbed Psycho's throat, choking him. "Enough acting like you don't know what's going on! Use that thick head of yours to tell me the answer to this phrase: '_From ancient times and ancient places_

_One-eyed men and sideways faces_

_The final emerald, the final feast_

_Is in the eye of the ancient beast_'

Now what does it mean??"  
Psycho gargled gibberish. Being choked didn't guarantee an accurate response, but Dark Sonic didn't seem to notice. He held Psycho in the air, demanding an answer. At first, Psycho had no idea what he was talking about. He looked behind him to the others, still frozen in place, so they were no help. He wasn't going to stay conscious for very long at this rate. His line of sight drifted off into the distance…

It was then that an answer emerged right before him… so obvious that he was amazed Dark was dumb enough not to have realized it sooner. The ancient beast… who had been staring at everyone the entire time.

"Tell me!" demanded Dark angrily.

Struggling, Psycho narrowed his eyes over Dark's shoulder, pointed into the distance, and barely spurted out the word, "That."

Dark realized Psycho was pointing at something behind him. Without moving his body, Dark swiveled his head 180 degrees to see what Psycho was pointing at. For a moment, he didn't see anything. Then, like a firecracker, the realization hit him.

The Luxor Hotel and Casino stood in the distance, across the street from the Wild Kard Hotel, like it had been since the beginning. The ebony pyramid stood with the beacon of light shining heavenward. The hotel itself loomed in front of it. The palm trees, water ponds, and promenades displayed themselves almost as authentic as the architecture made by the Ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago.

"_Ancient times and ancient places…"_ murmured Dark.

Adorning many of the walls and vistas of the front lobby area and most of the complex were lines and lines of hieroglyphics. Feathers, asps, birds, and many other symbols were embedded into the surfaces. Along with these symbols were pictographs of people, ancient Egyptians, who were drawn with their bodies facing forward, but their heads facing to the side.

"_One-eyed men and sideways faces,"_

But before anyone could approach the complex itself, the property was guarded by two towering figures resting on pedestals. Bodies that were in the shape of a large cat… and a human face resting on its shoulders. Two enormous sphinxes with large black eyes sat on either side of a slightly larger sphinx. This one was wearing an intricate headrest with a green gem placed in the middle of the forehead. The final emerald… displayed for the world to see the entire time.

"_Is in the eye of the ancient beast_!"

Dark couldn't believe it. It had been right across the street waiting for him, in plain view of everybody.

Dark spun his head back around, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you, Dog! You won't regret this! Oh, wait… actually, you will! Hahahaha!" As he laughed, he jokingly decided to give Psycho one last scary illusion by melting his face off his skull, making him scream in terror.

Dark then disappeared, dropping a barely conscious Psycho to the ground and suddenly unfreezing time again. Everyone suddenly heard Psycho screaming not far away, their attention suddenly turned to him. Some of them headed over to him, barely able to make out what he was saying. Mostly a lot of "I'm so sorry"s and "He made me do it!"s that no one could really understand.

"What's he talking about?" asked Kevin, confused.

"Who do you think?" asked Rex.

Before anyone else could comment, the street began to rumble. Streetlights began to blink out, palm trees began to sway, and everyone began yelping in fear.

"What's going on now?!" yelled Courage.

Just then, something happened that made everyone's heads turn to the Luxor. The bright white light streaming from the top of the Luxor Pyramid had just turned red.

"Something that's not going to end well," groaned Rex.


	33. What Happens in Vegas

"What Happens in Vegas…"

The white beacon of light from the Luxor Pyramid that shot heavenward into the sky did not instantly change color. It was a slow, gradual change of hue, almost as if a giant artery had ruptured inside the pyramid and blood was clogging the light source. Other lights within the Luxor complex behaved oddly as well: streetlights began to glow red, others erupted in shards of glass, and some began to flicker wildly. A waterfall and pond by the hotel entrance began to boil, the amber-colored pond lights acting like oven coils, heating the water and melting the plastic sides of the pond itself, spilling hot water onto the entranceway.

The obelisks that stood mightily on the property now looked like eerie witnesses to a foreboding scene. Palm trees and foliage throughout the Luxor began to look withered and brown. The sphinxes that guarded the entrance to the hotel continued to sit silently.

The sphinx's headrest that contained the final emerald had disappeared.

"He's got it," muttered Kevin, his stomach sinking. "That sonnovabitch's got it."

Half of the group stared at the Luxor, dumbfounded. The other half looked at Psycho, who was beside himself with disbelief, shock, and shame.

"He-…" sputtered Psycho, shivering and short of breath. "He stopped time and… and held me… said some riddle… I-I just pointed to… and…" He held his head. He felt like the world was whirling around him.

Courage couldn't believe what he was hearing. Only those pure of heart were able to answer the riddles. _Psycho was pure of heart! _Courage couldn't see how that was possible. He and Psycho were practically polar opposites. Psycho had communicated with, became friends with, the very being that Courage despised! A now this white-eyed, brown-furred canine had told Dark Sonic, the _other_ entity that Courage despised, the location of the final emerald.

For a moment, Courage felt like clobbering the dog. All of this had been for nothing! Sandy had almost been killed because of Psycho! But logic began to contradict his initial reaction. It wasn't Psycho who had re-built Mecha-Courage or injured Sandy. Psycho didn't know that Courage was Rex's enemy until the confrontation before the car chase. It wasn't his fault, just as it wasn't Misty's, Tortured Artist's, or even Courage's own fault that they told Dark Sonic where the emeralds were. What other choice did they have? They also didn't comprehend the full extent of the consequences.

"Could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" asked a voice out of the blue suddenly.

Everyone turned to see who had asked the question. It was Rex.

Courage looked confused. "Don't you know?"

"Didn't Dark tell you about the emeralds?" asked Jonathan.

A blank look crossed Rex's face. In the back of his mind, he had suspected Dark Sonic was up to something from the moment they'd set foot in Las Vegas, but Rex never dwelled too long on the matter. He had his own agenda to worry about, after all. He'd never considered the possibility that Dark's plan actually transcended his own plan in terms of scale and severity.

Everyone else, particularly Courage, was amazed to realize that Rex was the only one in the group kept out of the loop. Who better to not tell about Dark's master plan to than his best friend? It made a sinister kind of sense. It sounded like something Dark Sonic was twisted enough to do.

Rex still looked confused. "No, he didn't tell me about any damn emeralds," said the armadillo. His metal arm scratched his noggin. "At least, I don't think he did." Maybe he had and forgotten about it? So much had happened in the past 24 hours that maybe it had slipped his mind.

It didn't take long for him to get caught up to speed, especially when everyone began talking at once about the emeralds, the riddles, and the summoning of Oblivion.

Rex rubbed his eyes. "That sounds like something the bastard would do." He stopped and glared at everyone, aggravated that he wasn't told all this from the get go. "And so what's he up to now? Trying to summon the Devil himself?"

As if on cue, the sidewalk they were standing on slowly began to vibrate. A deep, soft rumble could be heard as steam of some kind began billowing from the top of the Luxor pyramid and the surrounding ponds and manhole covers.

"What the hell is going on?!" screamed a voice behind everyone.

Everyone turned to see a man and a white rabbit running towards them.

"Allen!" shouted Joe and the K9 Krew. It had been hours since the band had seen or even heard from their bus driver. They were equally stunned to see Card Trick with him. Normally they would have been apprehensive upon seeing that rabbit again, since he'd almost tried to kill them in the Wild Kard Casino, but they were too focused on Allen to pay much heed. Plus, he looked a lot less menacing without his killer card robot.

"Well, I guess the gang's all here," muttered Rex, noticing how crowded the sidewalk had become.

"What the hell's going on?" shouted Allen. Nobody responded because nobody felt like explaining everything again to him like they just did with Rex. Without waiting for a reply, Allen ran to Joe, shouting, "We gotta get you and the band outta here! We gotta-…"

Just then a loud blast from the Luxor rocked the ground where they stood. Courage, Sandy, Misty, Kevin, Rex, Cindy, Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, D.M., Tortured Artist, Joe, Psycho, Gina, Daisy, RX, Humphrey, Card Trick, and Allen all turned in terror.

An entire section of the front entranceway of the Luxor hotel had exploded, as if a bomb had gone off. A gaping hole replaced the concrete ground with smoky steam billowing out of it, bathed in red light. One obelisk toppled over with a crash, while another one began to crack. In fact, cracks began appearing all over the complex. The black glass façade of the mighty obelisk began to shatter, raining shards onto the lobby. Crashes and breaking glass could be heard over the roar of the rumbling earth.

Joe turned back to Allen. "Do you know where the tour bus is?"

Allen thought for a second. "Yeah! Yes, I do."

"Good! Run back and stay in there until this blows over!"

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine! Go go go!"

Joe literally pushed Allen in the direction he was supposed to go. Allen stared for a minute before a loud bang sent him running.

"Joe! Look!" screamed Psycho, pointing back to the Luxor.

"What the??" muttered Joe in shock.

Through the smoke and carnage, figures began to appear. Some began to emerge from the cracks in the ground, others from the top of the pyramid. Still others began crawling out of the sewer vents and manholes. The smoke partially shrouded their identities, but enough could be seen to determine their basic shapes. Most of them were thin and lanky, with larger fatter ones among them. Long limbs, skeletal frames, and many teeth were common features. Much larger ones began to appear out of the gigantic hole in the ground. Clouds of sulfur and steam began to reach Courage and the others on the other side of the street. It was also starting to get hotter. Sweat began dripping down everyone's brow.

For almost all of them, it was one of the most terrifying sights they had ever seen. Nobody even moved…but not for long.

Suddenly, a large explosion occurred just behind the pyramid itself. Large black boulders, glowing with molten embers erupted into the sky, arcing slowly back towards ground… and one of them was heading straight for the terrified group on the sidewalk!

"Look out!" screamed Kevin.

Everyone immediately split into groups, running in various directions, before the boulder crashed into the sidewalk like a meteorite. Rex managed to grab Cindy and run straight ahead with Card Trick right next to them. Courage, his sister Misty, Sandy, and Kevin ran down the sidewalk to the right. Joe, Psycho, Gina, Daisy, and Humphrey ran down the sidewalk to the left, followed by Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, D.M., and Tortured Artist, who then branched away from the band and hid behind a just-fallen boulder.

Tortured Artist and the former agents huddled together behind the rock, the heat causing the group to stay a small distance away from the boulder.

"Anyone got any ideas?" shouted Jonathan to the others.

"I thought you were the leader?" yelled Chris.

"I don't wanna be the leader anymore! You be the leader!"

"What! Me?" Chris pointed to Gareth. "Let him be the leader!"

"What?" snapped Gareth.

"Why can't she be the leader?" cut in Tortured Artist, pointed to Darkest Moon.

"Hey!" said D.M.

"Look, it doesn't matter who the leader is!" shouted Jonathan. "We got to figure out what to do next!"

"AACK!! How about try not to get eaten?" screamed Tortured Artist, who pointed to the top of the smoldering rock.

The others turned and gasped to see a ghastly creature of teeth, spindly arms and legs, and scaly skin. It looked like something out of a Doom or Half-Life videogame. Another explosion, just beyond the sidewalk, scattered debris all over the place and gave the creature a gruesome appearance from the lighting.

"Just give me something to swing at him," said D.M.

The other agents, who were familiar with D.M.'s skill of using blunt objects as weapons, began looking around frantically as the creature began to crouch and growl loudly.

"Over there!" yelled Tortured Artist, who ran to a pile of debris blown by the previous explosion. The group ran madly over to the pile just as the demonic creature leaped off the boulder and onto the road, following the four of them.

D.M. immediately dove for the nearest available object, half of a handicapped parking sign. She picked up the sign's metal holed beam and held the sign with the blue handicapped diagram pointing right for the beast. Jonathan and Gareth each grabbed a wooden plank, Chris snatched up a metal pole, and Tortured Artist found a sharp pointed stick.

It was obvious that they needed to be armed. A mob of strange horrific creatures began running out of the smoky hotel, as if they were straight out of a horror-zombie videogame. Most of them were only as high as a normal person's hip, but there were some that were chest-height, shoulder-height, even taller than a regular person.

None of them, however, were aware of just how much firepower Rex had in his bionic body parts. As the armadillo reached the other side of the street with Cindy the raccoon and Card Trick the rabbit, they were stunned to see a small army of vicious figures running straight for them.

"Watch out!" shouted Rex, moving Cindy behind him as he lifted his mechanical arm, a thin, slender firearm protruding from it. However, its diminutive look was deceiving. Rex fired a loud blast that made Cindy and Card Trick cover their ears. The gun's ammo sailed into the oncoming crowd of demonic beings, with the imminent explosion sending parts of bodies flying in all directions.

"Hey!" yelled Rex to Card Trick. "Take Cindy back there! I'll hold these things off!" Rex pointed to a large rock that had fallen right in the middle of the road. He then turned back and fired a round of machine gun ammo at some more creatures coming at him from the right.

Elsewhere, Joe and the band of canines were all doing their best to fend off the crowd of attacking monsters. At first, they simply hid behind whatever they could find in the hopes that nobody would see them. But they had caught the eye of a small group of shriveled, decaying humanoids who hobbled in their direction.

"Quick! Find something to hit them with!" ordered Joe to the band mates.

Joe looked around frantically, but there wasn't much to use. They ended up resorting to tossing rocks and asphalt chunks at the creatures in a vain attempt to thwart them. Psycho dashed off to collect a pole from a severed street sign. At the same time, a large rock crashed into a fire hydrant, a geyser of water erupting and sending a creature into the air. Psycho returned, running at full speed and skewering a creature in the gut with it.

"Keep moving!" the canine said to the others, backing up with them.

Not far away, Kevin was shooing back beings with a street lamp that somehow got dislodged. Courage, Misty, and Sandy were at Kevin's feet doing their best to toss whatever they could at the beings. As they ran, Kevin could see that a number of beings coming from the cracks in the ground were running away in all directions, passing Kevin and all the others completely as if they weren't there at all. Still, there were a lot of monsters that did notice them and were trying to attack them.

"Courage!" shouted Kevin. "Try to double-back to the Wild Kard!" Kevin figured that they could get more ammo if they got back to the hotel, but every time they tried to make it back, they had to go back the other way because a group of creatures was always blocking their path.

"Kevin!" shouted Sandy suddenly. "We need to head back towards Rex!"

Kevin, Misty, and Courage all stopped and looked at her. "Why??" they asked in unison.

"Because he's the only one with any ammunition!"

"Good point!" yelled Kevin.

Suddenly, Kevin and a few others noticed that none of the creatures were making any sudden attacks at anyone. They were just approaching and staying short distance away, except in Rex's case, where they stayed a considerable distance away. Kevin sensed something unfortunate was about to happen.

"Dark!!" screamed Rex towards the Luxor, a flamethrower pointed and ready to fire. "Where are you?!"

His answer came in the form of a loud hum, like an enormous bass speaker was pointed at them at full blast. The air temperature began increasing dramatically as sparks began flashing and spraying out of nearby telephone poles. The ground trembled and quaked under everyone's feet. All the creatures suddenly stopped and turned to the Luxor. Everybody froze, too scared to move, sensing impending doom.

Instantly, a glaring light flashed, blinding everyone briefly, as a loud crash shook the nearby buildings. When everyone could see again, they realized the light had come from the eyes of the largest sphinx. Bathed in red light from below and partially shielded from steam, a small figure suddenly appeared, climbing up to the top of the sphinx's head.

It was Dark Sonic. In his hands were the four emeralds.

Even from a distance, he looked quite malevolent. His eyes were completely red and glowing. He seemed bigger than he really was and was shouting something to himself in a voice that was one or more octaves lower than his real voice, which made Dark sound extra-demonic. Almost nobody could make out what he was saying over the steam, hum, and rumbling. Those that did interpreted it as some kind of gibberish. Only Rex knew what Dark was truly saying, and even he was momentarily stunned by what it was.

Rex realized that Dark was reciting the Enochian Keys, a series of chants from the Anton LaVey book _The Satanic Bible_ that when spoken in their traditional Enochian language supposedly summoned unspeakable power and opened the doors to Hell itself. He had heard Dark Sonic talking about it a few times before they arrived in Las Vegas only a few days ago.

"Yeah… this definitely sounds like something Dark would do," he muttered to himself with disdain.

Rex's mind was processing at a frantic pace. He remembered the information that the others had told him earlier, about Dark's plan. He recalled the creatures that were already resurrected by the solutions to the riddles, which were spoken by the pure-hearted: Lucifer at Stratosphere, Leviathan at Wet n Wild, and Belial at the art museum. Rex remembered the fourth and final creature that would now be summoned. The grand-daddy of them all.

Oblivion.

"Rex!!" screamed someone behind him. The armadillo turned to see who it was. Kevin and Courage ran up to him with Sandy holding Misty behind them. He could also see Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, D.M. and Tortured Artist start to double back and head towards him. He lost sight of Joe and the Krew, and Cindy and Card Trick were still not visible. He hoped that they were still safe.

"Rex!" shouted Kevin again. He pointed up to Dark on the sphinx's head, still chanting. "How do we stop him?!"

For once, Rex didn't come up with an instant answer. He had been through horrific events in his lifetime, unimaginable to any of them, but this ranked right up near the top. For a brief instant he worried that he might not even survive this apocalyptic fiasco, but then he remembered that his regenerative abilities would prevent death from happening… unless something _really_ unfortunate happened. Rex shook that thought out of his head.

"What's Dark saying?!" yelled Jonathan to Rex.

Rex jerked his head to the former agent. "He's reciting the Enochian Keys!"

"What are they?" asked Gareth.

"Too put it bluntly, it's nineteen separate chants that are supposed to summon Oblivion, the fourth demon from those emeralds you mentioned!"

"That's not good!" shouted D.M.

"You don't know the half of it, toots," responded Rex. "If he recites all nineteen of them, he'll not only summon Oblivion, but open a doorway to Hell! Permanently!" Actually, he wasn't 100 sure of its permanency, but being around Dark for so long, it sounded logical enough.

"Are you insane?!" shouted Chris. "How are we supposed to stop something like that?! Are you crazy?!"

Chris glared at Rex. Rex glared at Chris.

"Don't you try to get into my head, Chrissy-boy," growled Rex. "You of all people should know that."

Chris was about to say something to that, but suddenly Card Trick bounded up.

"Rex!" he shouted.

"What the hell are you doing, CT?!" yelled Rex angrily to the rabbit. "I thought I told you to stay and protect Cindy!!"

"Cindy's fine! She's safe in the Wild Kard lobby!" shouted Card Trick. "But for the sake of the planet, I've got to at least try and stop Dark from progressing any further!" With that, the rabbit ran towards Dark and the sphinx.

"Wait! CT!" yelled Courage.

"Easy, dog," said Rex.

"But Rex!" said Kevin. "What chance does Card Trick have against Dark Sonic? He's just a homicidal casino rabbit!"

Rex almost laughed at the comment. "True… but he's also a magician."

"So?" asked Courage.

Just then, everyone turned to Card Trick. As he ran, he suddenly cocked his arm back, as if to throw something, and a big orb of electrical energy appeared from his palm. The jolts that emanated from it did not seem to affect the rabbit at all. With all his might, Card Trick threw the orb at Dark Sonic, hitting him square in the chest, knocking him off the sphinx's head and onto its back.

"By magician, I meant practitioner of magick," said Rex slyly. He figured that Card Trick would buy them some time for now, but it wouldn't be very long.

Just then, all the creatures that had been entranced by the chanting snapped out of it and resumed their attacks.

"Get behind me!" yelled Rex, pointing his flamethrower at the ensuing mob. He could see Joe and the band in the distance running from a small group of creatures. As he fried the oncoming creatures into ash, he hoped with all his might that Cindy and Card Trick were okay.

Atop the sphinx, Dark shook his head and cursing, the sudden blast knocking him out of his spell. He was only a few words away from summoning Oblivion. He was also a few more chants away from opening the doorway to Hell for good. He glanced down to the ground to see Card Trick angrily glaring up at him.

"Insolent fool!" shouted Dark Sonic, his red eyes glowing brightly. "I should've done away with you when I had the chance!"

Card Trick remembered his earlier argument with Dark Sonic, which had resulted in him getting thrown against a wall of security monitors. Card Trick remembered the feel of the glass shattering against his back and head, the pain making him more and more enraged.

"So this is what you came here for?!" yelled Card Trick, throwing another electrical orb at him. "To unleash hell on Earth? What would that accomplish?! You'd be destroying all of us, even your best friend!"

Dark figured he was talking about Rex. "If that armadillo had any brains, he'd be hightailing it out of here! It's not my fault if he wants a front-row seat to Armageddon, along with you and all of his little friends."

"Geez, you are really starting to become a pain in my side!" With that, Card Trick unleashed a pulse of electric energy, crashing into Dark Sonic for a few seconds… until a blast a fire made it dissipate.

"Very clever, rabbit," grunted Dark Sonic. The villain tossed a fire-bolt of his own, which Card Trick easily back-flipped to avoid.

"What's the matter?!" yelled Card Trick in a mocking tone. "Why don't you stop time or open up a new dimension to suck me into instead of little fire bolts?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I have some very important chants to get back to!" Dark grinned slyly. "But since you asked."

A split second of silence occurred. Card Trick looked around and suddenly noticed that his shorts had been pulled down. Dark had momentarily stopped time to obviously pull them to the ground

"Hahaha!" laughed Dark Sonic as the rabbit pulled them back up.

"Oh, how infantile!" retorted Card Trick, cursing back at him.

"Alright then, playtime's over," muttered Dark Sonic, before returning to his chants. As he was about to conclude his current chant, however, Card Trick shouted a short chant of his own. Immediately, glass and rubble rocketed past the rabbit and straight towards the black hedgehog. Dark simply leaped down the other side of the sphinx to avoid the onslaught and finished his chant.

At once, a gigantic thing crashed up from beneath the cement walkway that led to the Luxor's entrance. Heat and the sickening stench of sulfur filled the air. Slabs of concrete flew away as a very large entity stood up behind the sphinxes. Rex and his "friends" all turned to witness it. It reminded Courage, Misty, and Tortured Artists of the beasts they had conjured up when Dark Sonic tricked them with his riddles. This one appeared vaguely anthropomorphic, composed of lava, rock, and coal. Electricity-woven fires sprouted from the being. It looked like a volcano had come to life and stood up. Two glowing eyes and a wide, frowning mouth appeared.

"Behold! Oblivion!!" screamed Dark Sonic, momentarily forgetting to continue with the chants. The sight filled him with pride and envy.

Everyone, demon and human alike, stopped and stared aghast.

"Any bright ideas now, Rex?" whispered Kevin.

Rex wished he could come up with something, but he was at a loss.

Suddenly, with amazing speed for a creature so huge, Oblivion bent an arm back and swung it, narrowly missing Dark and the sphinx, and crashing right into Card Trick, smashing the rabbit into the air. However, he was still conscious and landed on his feet a half mile away. He immediately began hopping back on his powerful legs towards Dark Sonic.

"Dark!" yelled Rex, trying to get the hedgehog's attention in vain.

"Rex, look out!" shouted Chris, pointing down the road.

Everyone turned to see Joe and his K9 band running down the road as fast as they could go. Behind them was a monstrous crowd of undead bodies running after them. Rotted flesh and clothing hung from their bones. And at the front, leading the zombies was….

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," said Kevin. Was he seeing things?

Courage's heart sank. Dark Sonic had a sick sense of humor bringing back to life this one; Kevin and Courage's old nemesis.

Dr. Stromwell.

He looked even more hideous than he did in real life, grinning evilly and running ahead of the other undead souls. They were gaining too. Joe and the band would be overrun by them at any moment.

But something was chasing after the zombies too! Instantly, a large object careened through the crowd, body parts flying everywhere.

It was the band's tour bus! With Allen at the wheel!

Courage couldn't help but smile when the bus ran right over Dr. Stromwell's zombie body, crushing it underneath. The bus then swerved to avoid missing the band, which was very surprised to see it. The bus then proceeded to smash through as many demons and creatures as it possibly could.

Dark Sonic growled to himself, growing tired of the little charades on the street. He looked up to Oblivion and simply said, "End this."

Joe and the Krew had joined up with the others at this point, exhausted and out of breath from running. They all turned to see Allen's bus do a 180, tires screeching, and start coming back, but Oblivion was ready for it. It flung a ropey tendril of lava at the side of the bus. Like saltwater taffy, it looped into the air before smashing into the bus, toppling it onto its side before it even reached the Wild Kard.

"Allen!!" screamed Joe, barely able to get his breath back from running. There was no sign of Allen.

But Oblivion wasn't done yet! He then dug his rocky hands into the wide-open vacant lot next to the Luxor and scooped up an enormous clump of dirt and rock almost a big as the Luxor Pyramid. Oblivion held it high above his head, grinning evilly.

"Nonononononono!!" shouted Rex, realizing what was about to happen. Desperately, he fired a shot at the monstrous clump, but it didn't do any good.

With all its might, Oblivion tossed the mass of soil into the air, sailing over the heads of everyone on the street, and crashing into the façade of the Wild Kard Hotel. Like a stack of cards, the entire complex, including the area that was already totaled by Mecha-Courage's explosion, fell backwards in a shower of steel and glass.

For one horrific moment, the only thought that Rex could think about was Cindy. CT said that she'd been safe in the Wild Kard's lobby. But now his hotel was being destroyed in one single moment. Rex stood frozen with horror until he spotted a figure running at top speed out of the front doors and towards the street, her bushy striped tail flying behind her.

"Cindy!" yelled Rex.

Cindy was tearing down the front walkway faster than Rex had ever seen her run. The entire structure collapsed behind her in a growing cloud of dust and debris. For a moment, the cloud had overwhelmed her, but she managed to reemerge just before she reached the street.

A scream behind Rex made him turn back to Dark Sonic. Card Trick had made it back to Dark Sonic and seemed ready to attack again. But Oblivion once again had the upper hand. With terrific speed, he grabbed the rabbit and in one horrifying move, tossed him to the ground, making a crater that caused concrete and dust to fly in all directions.

"Dammit!!" screamed Rex at the top of his lungs. Things were falling apart around him at a frightening pace. His friend Card Trick was probably dead, his hotel was totaled and his girlfriend almost was as well, and Dark Sonic was minutes away from conjuring up the Underworld to the Earth's surface. Rex realized that his regenerative abilities would make him exempt from succumbing to the horrors beneath, but what about everyone else? What about Courage?

With a start, Rex realized that if Courage were to die from these circumstances, he'd be without any major adversary. Courage was like the yin to his yang. Keeping him alive would maintain the equilibrium between their relationships. Without it, whom would he turn to? Rex could probably think of a few alternatives, but with the world crashing around him, his mind was desperate for a way out.

Rex turned to Courage. "Now what?"

Courage gave Rex a look of bewilderment. Rex was actually asking _him_ how to stop all this?

"How should we know?" yelled Kevin.

Joe and the band, the former agents, and the other humans and canines voiced their similar responses, and Cindy finally ran to Rex's side, gasping for air.

All eyes turned to Courage, who was beside himself with worry. All he could do was stand there, shivering.

"Think, dog, think!" continued Rex. "Isn't there anyone dead or alive who can stop this?!"

Courage shook his head. He couldn't think of anyone alive who could do anything to save them. As for dead…

…

…_wait, who_…?

Courage, who thought he heard a voice talking to him, could barely process those words in his brain before his vision of the world around him was instantly replaced.

Courage's eyes opened wide. Everyone stopped and stared at the pink dog oddly, his pupils shrank as his mouth began whispering something, as if unheard voices were communicating to him.

Just then, the mobs of demons began hopping up and down, cheering and waving their arms. Some of them hopped up onto Rex's Viper and Kevin's Mustang in jubilation.

"Dark's on the last chant!" shouted Rex.

Everyone around him clung to each other in horror. Cindy held onto Rex, burying her face into his shoulder. Psycho and Gina, RX and Daisy, and D.M. and Tortured Artist clung to each other. Sandy comforted Misty, who began crying.

Rex turned to Courage, who still appeared to be in some kind of trance. "Whatever you're doing, Courage, it had better be something to stop all this!" He received no reply.

"LOOKOUT!" yelled Jonathan, pointing upward.

A thunderous crash shook the ground. Oblivion had taken a step forward. Everyone screamed, yelled, and panicked, even Rex, when they saw Oblivion raise his hand, ready to crush the small group of onlookers.

But at that moment, the unbelievable happened.

Up in the sky, the cumulus clouds had been bubbling and churning since the Luxor Pyramid's light had first changed color. There was no visible nighttime sky to be seen. At that moment, however, a beam of intense white light, like a giant spotlight, sprung from a hole in the clouds and landed right on the crowd of dogs and people on the street! All the demons closest to the light either screeched and dissipated or ran off to a safe distance. Oblivion stopped and stared, its hand still raised.

Dark Sonic stopped his chants at once and gasped at the sight, not believing what he was seeing. "No," he whispered.

At once, Rex could see something happening to everyone in the group, including himself. The light was so bright that everyone had to squint his or her eyes to see. Everyone's bodies had become dark forms. Within everyone's forms, a bright pulsating orb of light flickered and sparkled. It was everyone's hearts beating. Rex looked down and saw his own heart blinding him with its incredible luminosity. Rex looked around and saw the hearts of Tortured Artist, Psycho, and Misty shining slightly brighter than everyone else's. But Courage's heart was shining so brightly, you almost couldn't see his body at all! Rex felt himself become more light-headed and elated at that moment, but everyone else began to feel much better; any injuries or negativity had completely disappeared. Benefiting most from this was Sandy, whose battered body suddenly began to feel absolutely pain-free!

Just then, Courage began walking towards where Oblivion was standing. The beam of light followed him. Once it no longer shown on the others, they all blinked from the sudden absence of light. The hoards of demons avoided the light at all costs.

Oblivion actually took a step back as the light-bathed dog approached. Dark was beside himself with anger. "What's going on?! Stop him!" the hedgehog shouted at Oblivion, pointing to Courage.

Courage stopped at the crater where Card Trick's lifeless body lay at the bottom. But the beam of light continued into the hole, shining on the rabbit. Courage's eyes were glowing white, staring down into the pit until life had returned to the crippled bunny. Card Trick looked around, confused as to what had just happened.

Dark Sonic pushed the emeralds into his chest, the gems sinking into his body, and began jumping up and down, enraged and pointing up to the clouds. "Hey!! Don't you dare pull this 'deus ex machina' crap on me!! Do you hear me?"

Courage jerked his head towards Dark Sonic. Instantly, the beam of light coursed over onto Dark's face. Dark let out a screech, blinded by a painful glare. He collapsed, his hands over his face, writhing in agony.

Then Courage jerked his head over to Oblivion. The light followed, shining in Oblivion's face, making it howl in pain.

"Look!" shouted Chris, pointing heavenward.

Everyone turned to see three other beams of light in the sky, pointed at other locations in the city. These beams were much bigger in size because floating up in these beams like prisoners were three monstrous creatures: Lucifer, Leviathan, and Belial, the other three demons summoned from the emeralds.

Suddenly, as Card Trick finally crawled out of the hole, the light shining on Oblivion grew in size. It soon enveloped Oblivion's entire body… then the sidewalk… then the street… then the entire block! Any demons unfortunate enough to be caught in the light evaporated instantly. All the others ran for their "un-lives", but it was useless. The energy of the light was not only pulling them back into it, it was actually making Oblivion float up off the ground. The other three lights coursed over, bringing their captives with them, until the four demonic monsters floated side by side as if on display.

Card Trick ran over to the group. By now, everyone was clinging to everyone else in a big pile, too scared and overwhelmed to move or talk! A small gust of wind suddenly began to whirl through the air… that soon became a breeze, then a gale, until the wind whirled in a large circle like a weak tornado.

"NONONO!!" screamed Dark Sonic in agony. "I was so close! This can't be! You've ruined everything!!"

Courage began walking over to the sphinx that Dark Sonic stood upon. As he did, four glimmering lights floated out of Dark's body as he kept cursing and yelling.

The emeralds.

Each emerald floated over until each one was below its corresponding creature. Each one of the demonic monsters writhed and wriggled as the emeralds illuminated brightly. Then, the creatures began to morph, disintegrate, or siphon their bodies back into the emeralds.

The process happened rather slowly, which allowed Courage to scale the sphinx and confront Dark Sonic, who was on his knees, staring in disbelief.

"You..." stuttered Dark, "You stupid dog."

With otherworldly might, Courage swung back and decked Dark in the nose. He fell back, rays of black shining out of the sphinx where he lay, as black tendrils began to emerge from the sphinx and drag Dark Sonic into the sphinx itself, sinking down until he disappeared from sight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Courage thought he could see a white feather float down from the sky, unaffected by the winds. A sudden blast of light filled the world.

It was the last thing Courage saw before he and everyone down on the street blacked out.


	34. Stays in Vegas

"…Stays in Vegas"

Kevin woke up, his head throbbing. It felt like he was waking up from the most unbelievable dream in his whole life. For a brief moment, he thought he was back home in bed. However, a hot breeze brushed over his body and he felt like he was lying on a stone slab instead of a soft mattress. Kevin opened his eyes to see streaks of cirrus clouds in the dark sky, replacing the low-altitude, bubbling cumulus clouds that were there before.

With a start, Kevin tried to sit up, but his stiff back made the process slow and cumbersome. Judging from the sky, it looked like early morning. The sun wasn't up yet, but it would be very soon. Kevin rubbed his head and looked around.

Lying around him lay the bodies of his friends, most of which were still asleep or unconscious. Kevin crawled over to Sandy, who began to wake up and slowly remove her bandages. "Sandy! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," said Sandy, rubbing the areas where her injuries had been. "I'm fine!"

"Kevin!" announced Misty, who had also just woken up. "Wh-what happened?"

Kevin looked around, instantly noticing significant differences from the last time he was conscious.

For one thing, everything vaguely appeared to be back to normal! All the cracks and holes in the ground, shattered glass, and cratered concrete were gone. Every light, from the smallest streetlights to the Luxor Pyramid's beacon, had gone back to their normal states. The lava-encrusted boulders, rocks, and rubble had disappeared. Trees and light posts that had toppled over were now standing upright. The Luxor obelisks and sphinxes had returned to normal as if nothing happened. In fact, the entire Luxor complex, the street in front of it, and the surrounding lots now looked just like they did before Dark Sonic had acquired the fourth emerald.

There was no sign of Dark Sonic anywhere. In fact, Rex was gone too, as well as Card Trick and Cindy. Rex's Viper had also vanished, but Kevin's Mustang still sat on the street, looking good as new.

"Look!" said Sandy, pointing to the Wild Kard Hotel and Casino… or what was left of it. Whatever had happened to bring the Luxor back to normal apparently didn't affect the Wild Kard Hotel at all. The entire building was completely destroyed. All that was left was a huge pile of rubble.

"Wow," said Kevin to himself. He actually felt rather relieved to have Rex's Hotel demolished.

Just then, one by one, everyone began to wake up. Jonathan, Chris, Gareth, D.M. and Tortured Artist slowly brushed themselves off and got to their feet, amazed that they didn't have any injuries. Joe slowly woke up and got up, followed by Psycho, Gina, Daisy, RX, and Humphrey. All of them were dazed and amazed that the Luxor was fine and the Wild Kard was gone.

"Wait, where's Courage?" said Jonathan.

"Over there!" exclaimed Misty, who pointed at the pink dog a hundred feet away. Everyone ran over to him.

Courage rubbed his head; feeling like he'd woke up from a nightmare. He knew full well that what had happened last night had actually happened, but it all seemed too remarkable to take in. Preventing the end of the world? Defeating Dark Sonic? Returning the emeralds to… wherever it was they went? It sounded preposterous.

"How? How could I have done it?" Courage said to himself.

At that moment, everyone ran up to him. First, Sandy hugged him, then Misty, then Kevin and everyone else arrived, wondering if Courage okay, which he was.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Sandy, pointing to something by Courage's foot.

Courage bent down and picked it up. It was a white feather that felt so light and delicate to the touch that Courage was afraid it would break in his paws. He could see little rainbows dance within the feather, and with the sun almost visible above the horizon, it glimmered in the twilight.

"There's something wrapped around it!" pointed out Kevin.

He was right. Wrapped tightly around the base of the feather was a slip of light beige paper. When Courage unfurled it, it felt ancient, like papyrus. Courage could see some writing on the paper and when he opened it fully, he read the inscription:

_Courage. Thought you could use some help. Keep your friends close. We'll keep in touch. R&J_

Courage, Kevin, Sandy, and the former agents smiled. _Reginald and Joseph, I owe you guys one, _thought Courage.

"Who's R&J?" asked Tortured Artist and Joe and the Krew.

Courage pocketed the paper. "Some old friends of mine," was all he said.

Just then, a large engine roared to life behind them. Everyone turned to see what it was. It was the band's tour bus. It was parked on the side of the road in front of the demolished Wild Kard property. Like the Luxor, the bus looked good as new. Allen beeped the bus horn twice as everyone rushed over. Allen exited the bus and came up to everyone.

"Whew!" said Allen with a grin. "I don't know what happened last night, but it was one heck of a dream, huh?"

Nobody could tell for sure whether he was being sarcastic or dumb enough to be serious.

"Yeah, that's for sure," said Jonathan in a tone that satisfied either scenario.

"Well, I for one would like to put yesterday and last night behind me, so Joe?" Allen turned to Joe. "You think we can make it Yuma before tomorrow night?"

"Yuma?" asked Joe in a stunned voice. After all that had happened, he had completely forgotten that he and his band were in the middle of a three-state tour! "Yuma, Arizona? You expect my band and I to keep going after everything that's happened in the past few days? The kidnapping, the interview, the car race, the whole… whatever last night was?! Not to mention the nightmares that my band has been having!"

"Uh, Joe?" said Psycho. He was going to remind Joe that the nightmares were most likely Dark Sonic's doing and would probably not get them anymore (at least he hoped so), but Joe continued.

"I want you to drive us right back to LA so that we can recover from this horrible experience!" exclaimed Joe.

"But what about your agent?" asked Allen.

"We'll deal with him when we get there," snapped Joe. "And then, this band is going to go on a little vacation to rest and relax until further notice, you with me guys?" He turned to his band mates.

Considering what they had all been through, the band was more than happy upon hearing this news.

Allen just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just the driver. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Excellent!" said Joe.

"Hey, buddy," said Jonathan to Allen. "Um, do think you'd mind me and my friends hitching a ride back to LA?"

"You mean us?" asked Chris, referring to him, Gareth, D.M. and Tortured Artist.

"Well… sure!" said Jonathan inquisitively. "I mean, this vacation really hasn't worked out for us and… we'll probably need to take a vacation from this vacation, like what Joe and the Krew are doing… and I have enough saved for a weekend getaway in Honolulu, and I'd hate to go alone, so…"

"J?" asked Gareth. "Say no more, mate. I would totally be up for that!"

"Me too!" chipped in D.M.

"Can you afford to do that?" asked Chris.

Jonathan smiled. "We used to work for the government, Chris, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Of course," he said.

"What about you, Tortured Artist?" asked Jonathan.

"Well… I live up in Reno, so I dunno how…" he began.

"Tell you what," said Jonathan. "When we get to LA, we'll get you a plane ticket back to Reno. How about that?"

Tortured Artist thought about it. "Sounds good to me!"

"Well, I… guess this is where we part ways then," said Jonathan to everyone.

There was a pause as the comment sunk into everyone's mind. At that moment, the sun finally peaked over the horizon, bathing everyone in the orange sunlight.

"Can we get some breakfast before we go?" asked Psycho.

"Where?" asked Courage. "The whole city's evacuated."

"We still have some food in the bus, dog," said Joe, who was feeling hungry as well.

"Well, Kevin, Courage, Sandy, Misty…" said Jonathan with finality in his voice. "I don't know what to tell you. I have to say, it feels like forever since me and my friends first met you guys, and well…"

"You know," cut in Kevin. "It seems like our lives have a tendency to cross every now and then. I can almost guarantee they will again."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Jonathan.

As Kevin said his goodbyes to Joe, Tortured Artist, Chris, D.M. and Gareth, Psycho came up to Courage.

"Well, Courage," muttered the dog to himself. "I, um, really don't know what to say either. I mean, I really didn't expect things to turn out the way they did."

Courage glanced at Psycho's band mates, who were busy saying good-bye to Misty and Sandy. Courage wished he could've gotten to know them better.

"Mm-hmm," said Courage, nodding.

"I just want you to know that I want no hard feelings between us or anything," said Psycho. "I mean, this whole issue with Rex… I don't want that to make us mortal enemies, y'know?"

Courage paused for a moment. He wasn't too keen Psycho's suggestion at first, but Rex's personality seemed to have changed from the Rex that Courage had always known. Examples included seeing Rex get his butt kicked by Kevin at the end of the race, the way Rex seemed almost afraid when Dark Sonic seemed to be victorious, and most of all the way he behaved toward Cindy. Courage once again couldn't believe that someone could be attracted to that half-armadillo, half-machine, but the look that had been on Rex's face when Cindy was running from the collapsing Wild Kard Hotel… it really did look like he had strong feelings for her.

Maybe, just maybe, Rex was changing for the better.

Courage nodded again in response to Psycho's question.

"So, if we ever get a chance to meet up again sometime in the future," said Psycho, shuffling his feet, "I hope it'll start out on a better note than what's happened over the past 48 hours."

"Me too," said Courage. The two dogs shook paws. "You take care of Gina too, okay?"

Psycho was surprised at how Courage knew about him and his band mate Gina the poodle. Before he could respond, Gina and the rest of the band came over.

"Don't worry, Courage, we'll be alright," she said with a smile.

"We all will," added Sandy.

"At least we will once we go on vacation," said Humphrey. "Well, on a vacation better than our little Vegas adventure anyway."

"And don't worry about those nightmares you said you and your band mates had earlier," added Courage. "That was probably Dark Sonic messing around with you, and I don't think he'll be bothering you guys for a good, long while."

RX sighed with relief. "That's a load off of our minds." RX remembered how terrified he had been during his last nightmare and was thankful he didn't have to go through all that again.

"C'mon, gang!" called out Joe, who was starting to board the bus. Allen honked the horn in agreement.

"Gang?" asked Kevin, coming up behind Courage. "What are you, Scooby and the gang now?"

"Psh, you wish," scoffed Psycho, smirking as he and the band waved goodbye and walked to the bus.

"Later, guys!" yelled Kevin to the band and everyone else. Everyone waved back.

Joe and the band wandered back to the back half of the bus, letting the others take the front half.

"Wow, this is gonna be kind of a tight squeeze," said Joe his band mates.

Psycho reached out and grabbed Gina's paw, smiling. "Hey, as long as we're all still in one piece, huh?"

"Too true," said Gina, giving Psycho's paw a loving squeeze and reaching for some snacks with her other paw.

"Oh, by far!" said Daisy, putting on some headphones. "I can't wait to get out of this city and away from demons and magic and whatever the heck went on back there."

"Joe," said Humphrey before going to the restroom. "Next time we schedule an out-of-town gig, make sure you do some _research_ on our venues, okay?"

"Alright," answered Joe.

Once inside the front half of the bus, Jonathan said to Chris and Gareth. "Well guys, what do you think?"

Chris grinned. "I think an extended stay in Hawaii is just what we need."

Gareth grinned. "Totally. I've been working on my British accent too. I hear the ladies love that."

"Nope, still hasn't done affected me any," joked D.M.

"Y'know, guys," said Tortured Artist, sitting down next to D.M. "I don't necessarily have to go straight home to Reno. If you guys have room for one more eligible bachelor, would-…"

Gareth playfully punched Tortured Artist's arm. "Hey, I think we owe this guy a worthy vacation after all he's been through, right?"

"Absolutely," said Chris and Jonathan.

"As long as we don't end up at any water parks," cut in Tortured Artist, eliciting a laugh from everyone.

Tortured Artist turned to D.M. and then said quietly, "Um, D.M.? Uh, once we get to Hawaii, you want to get some coffee or go for a walk or something?"

D.M. smiled. "That sounds like fun. On one condition though."

"Name it."

"You have to tell me your real name."

"Sure thing," said Tortured Artist with a grin. "Right after you tell me yours."

"Deal," replied Darkest Moon with a chuckle.

Tortured Artist sat back in his seat, smiling giddily. _Yes, this vacation is going to be much more fun._

With a lurch and a wave of his hand, Allen put the bus into gear and headed towards the interstate. Courage, Kevin, Misty, and Sandy watched the bus until it disappeared.

For a long time, the group stood there, taking in everything that happened over the past few days.

Suddenly, Kevin gasped. "Oh my gawd! It's been forever since I last called my parents! They must be worried sick about me!"

Courage looked at his sister Misty and his love Sandy. "I guess we'd better find a phone then." With that, they ran to Kevin's Mustang.

"At least nothing bad happened to the car," said Kevin giving the car a pat.

As luck would have it, a bird flying overhead decided at that moment to falsify Kevin's statement right on the windshield.

"I hope you got plenty of wiper fluid," said Sandy.

As everyone would later find out on the news, the city's evacuation ended later that day. Police and federal law enforcement agencies had evacuated the city as a precaution after Mecha-Courage's explosion destroyed part of the Wild Kard Hotel because they didn't know how many other bombs might've been planted in other hotels in the city. It took all day for a search of the Strip by elaborate networks of bomb squads and bomb-detection technologies. Everyone was allowed to return back, which explained why Kevin had the entire freeway to himself while traffic jams eventually clogged the interstate in the opposite direction. There was absolutely no recollection of Dark Sonic's melee at all, but the previous demonic creatures were exempt from such a luxury. Fortunately, the few videotapes shown on the news of these demons summoned by the emeralds were blinded by either ephemeral bright light or insufficient camerawork. Allegations of monstrous creatures based on fuzzy video clips would be speculated for months afterwards and would actually improve Las Vegas's tourism for a little while. As for the demolished Wild Kard Hotel, an investigation concluded that the initial explosion weakened the entire structure's stability and it collapsed on itself. It would take a while, but Las Vegas would survive.

It took two days of driving before Kevin's Mustang arrived in Nowhere, Courage's hometown. Understandably, Kevin's parents were upset at not hearing anything from their son, especially after hearing about Las Vegas's full-scale evacuation. The moment Kevin found a phone on the freeway, he spent a half hour talking to them and reassuring their worries. Of course, he had to make up a whole story about what happened yesterday and last night to his parents. He had to promise to stop and call them every few hours to keep them from worrying.

The ride to Nowhere, compared to their vacation in Vegas, was very uneventful. Once they arrived, it didn't take long to find the right road and see that familiar windmill and wooden house in the distance. The sight couldn't have made Courage any happier.

Just then, Courage told Kevin to stop on the side of the road several hundred feet from the mailbox.

"I just wanted to say good-bye to you guys without Eustace and Muriel around," said Courage only because he worried it would feel awkward saying good-bye to Sandy and Misty with Eustace making rude remarks.

Kevin leaned over and gave Courage a hug. "Heh, anytime you wanna hang out again, just give us a call."

Courage nodded. He then turned to his sister and gave her a hug. "Sorry about ruining the vacation for you, Misty."

"Are you kidding?" said Misty. "Scary demon monsters, hedgehog-actived apocalypse, and satanic emeralds aside, this vacation was awesome! Any other brother, if I had one, would pale in comparison to you!"

Courage chuckled, then looked at Misty. "But what's going to happen to you now?"

Sandy leaned in and said, "She can stay with Kevin and me!"

"Really?!" asked Misty excitedly.

"Sure! Would your parents mind, Kevin?" Sandy turned to Kevin.

"For the time being, sure," smiled Kevin. "Maybe longer if she's on her best behavior."

"Oh, thank you, Kevin!" she gave Kevin and Sandy another hug. "Hey Courage! Why not tag along with us too?"

Courage smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my place is here in Nowhere." He looked out the window, took a deep breath and turned to Sandy, saying, "And if you want, you could stay here and live with me, Sandy. How does that sound?"

A heavy pause followed that seemed to last forever, Sandy, Misty, and Kevin looking bewildered by the suggestion.

Finally, Sandy gave Courage a sad smile and said, "I'm sorry, Courage, I just can't right now."

Starting to panic, Courage babbled, "I mean, I know Eustace probably won't be too crazy about the idea, but-…"

"No, it's not that," assured Sandy. "You need to stay here in Nowhere because Muriel and Eustace still need your support. I need to stay with Kevin and his family for support. It's too soon to consider making a life of our own together. But I can promise you, Eustace and Muriel are not going to be around forever, and Kevin and I will move away from his parents' house, and then… then you and I can live the rest of our lives together, they way we've always wanted to."

Courage could see that Sandy was trying her best to hold back tears. Courage simply leaned in to embrace Sandy and said quietly, "I'll look forward to that day, I can promise you that. Until then…"

Courage opened the door, gave everyone a smile, and said, "Be sure to call me when you get home, okay?"

"You got it," said Kevin, Misty, and Sandy.

Courage stood by the side of the road as the red Mustang drove off. For the longest time, he stood there, thinking of everything and nothing, then turned and walked back to his home, Eustace and Muriel awaiting his return.

EPILOGUE

After a long day of driving out of Vegas, the tour bus finally began to enter the outskirts of Los Angeles. While the sun was setting, stars began to appear. It took several hours for the former agents and the band to get settled into the band's domicile, but eventually their guests agreed to stay the night before leaving in the morning.

Hours later, after everyone had gone to sleep, the band's guitarist, RX, woke up to find himself in a wall-less room. He didn't know where he was or how he got there.

"Am I dreaming?" asked RX to himself.

"Of course you are," said a voice behind him.

RX whirled around to see, to his horror, Dark Sonic. He was seated in an elegant easy chair with an uninterested look on his face.

RX shivered at first, but then stomped his foot and yelled, "Why must you keep scaring me like this?!"

Dark Sonic sighed and shifted his weight in the chair. He actually didn't look all that threatening at all. "Ya know, RX, I was only scaring you and your friends for fun. It was all in good humor."

RX frowned, his fear replaced with anger. "I didn't think it was very funny!" he snapped.

Dark Sonic leaned forward. "Why do you think I only hurt you in your dreams and not in reality?" DS asked.

"You did hurt me!" RX said, rubbing his still sore neck from when one of the underworld creatures clawed him on his nape.

"But I didn't kill you! I'm really a nice guy if given the chance."

"What about all those evil things that you did?" RX asked. "How can that make you nice?"

"I don't ask you why you eat to survive, so why should you ask me why I destroy to survive?" DS asked.

RX cocked his head to the side. "I don't get it," he said, giving a puzzled look.

"Why do you think I was after those emeralds? Why do you think I wanted to open a gateway to hell? I crave death, chaos, destruction, and fear in order to survive. Just like you eat, breathe, bleed, and sleep to survive. We have different methods of staying alive, and if you can't accept me for who I am, you're no better than me," DS said, giving a smug smile.

RX looked at the floor, digesting Dark's logic.

Finally, he shook his head. "No. I don't buy it." RX muttered.

Dark Sonic cocked his head to the side this time. "Why not?" he asked. "You like horror movies don't you?" DS asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"So do I, they do the same thing we do. We all have a lot in common because we all want to survive. Vampires drink blood. You drink water. I drink fear. And it's all the same," DS explained.

"So what, you actually want to be friends with me or something?" RX asked. "Joe is going to be pissed if he find out."

"Psh," said DS, with a wave of his hand. "Who cares what he thinks? You're your own dog. You saw how he misunderstood Psycho's relationship with Rex. He wanted Psy to leave his best friend just because he hung with me. That isn't right."

"Joe hates you though."

"I hate him too, but I don't disband friends because of it. If I had wanted to kill you or Psycho or your other band mates or anyone else last night, I would've done so long before. I at least have _some_ consideration for others' lives." Dark Sonic cleared his throat. "Plus, Psycho can be friends with Rex, why can't you be friends with me?"

RX thought this fact over. They did have a lot in common, and Dark Sonic currently didn't give off any sense of danger. _Dark could be a nice guy if given the chance, he just does evil because that's what everyone likes to assume he is._

"Joe told Psycho to stop talking to Rex," blurted RX, remembering the heated argument that occurred when Psycho admitted to being Rex's friend.

"You think that's going to stop him?" snapped back Dark Sonic. "Do you or any of your band mates always follow Joe's rules? You think Joe would approve of Psycho screwing Gina or Daisy's obsession over you or Humphrey's addiction to 'Skin-emax' movies?"

RX didn't reply. He was too overwhelmed by the deluge of new information.

Dark Sonic grinned smugly. "I didn't think so… okay, maybe he'd be okay with the hookups, but a dog liking human porn? That's just sick." Dark Sonic laughed.

Then the hedgehog took a deep breath, almost taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Then his tone of voice changed to one of reflection and serenity. "You know, back then in the Bible days, demons weren't really evil beings. The terms Gods and Demons were interchanged. Somehow throughout the years, Demon became synonymous with evil and we haven't shed the bad rap since."

RX grabbed the sides of his head. "This… this just doesn't feel right! I should fear you, but yet… I'm actually having an intelligent conversation with you! It used to be whenever I saw your screen name on my computer, I ran away in fear."

Dark Sonic nodded. "You see what I meant about fear? I'm like a leech when it comes to that." Dark paused for a moment before continuing. "Heh, y'know, this might sound hard to believe, but did you know Rex feared me at first as well? He'll never admit it now, of course, but damn, he was scared out of his mind when I first met him. I could sense it. But I became friends with him. We shared the same lust for destruction and made a great team. You and I could be a team too. You always fear what you don't understand, and when you understand it, there's nothing to fear," DS said, smiling.

RX remained hesitant for a moment. Finally, he looked up and said, "Alright… on one condition. You stop scaring my friends and I with these nightmares and restrict our meetings to online and once in a long while in person. Agreed?"

Dark Sonic thought for a moment and finally nodded. "Agreed. See? That wasn't so bad now was it?"

"No it…it wasn't…but what happens if anyone else finds out?" RX asked.

"Then just tell them the truth. If they don't believe it, then they're not your true friends. Friends don't choose others' friends. Just like it isn't Joe's authority to break up Psy and Rex just because Rex happens to be friends with me. He shouldn't choose his friend's friends like that." DS explained further, "He just doesn't understand, and therefore makes decisions out of spite and fear rather than logic. And it's that exact reason that I refuse to try to become friends with him. The rest of the Krew is the same way. They won't even give me a chance to explain like you are. They tell me to go away."

RX nodded. "That's true, yes. I guess it's a good think Joe isn't actually a member of the band. He's just a producer and mixer."

"Then why is the band called 'Joe Nathan and the K9 Krew?"

"Y'know, we've been trying to work up the nerve to remove Joe's name from the official band name."

"I say go for it. This is good thing too, it'll not only make the band more accessible and easier to pronounce, but you shouldn't always depend on Joe forever. There's a bunch of producers out there in the world to collaborate with. If you guys hit the big-time, I'll point a few of them out for you."

"Cool," said RX.

"Anyway, before I go, I do want to leave you with one word of advice." Dark Sonic stood up and walked over to the dog. "Don't go all Cobain on me, whatever you do, okay? It might seem fun, but then I'll have nobody to talk to online." He laughed sarcastically and elbowed RX. "Plus, as I said already, Daisy's totally got the hots for you."

RX rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Thanks for talking to me… um, friend."

Dark Sonic stopped and stared right into RX's eyes, the hedgehogs own eyes glowing red. "Oh, I'm not talking to you at all. In fact, this is all just a bad dream………"

With a gasp, RX woke up in his room, sweating and gasping for air. For the longest time, he lay there in bed, thinking about what Dark Sonic had said and wondering if he would hold up his end of the deal.

_This is gonna be a long night,_ thought RX.

Entombed in darkness, Dark Sonic chuckled to himself. It was far too early to tell if RX would be a worthwhile friend to him or not. _In due time… but first thing's first._

He could hear tapping sounds not far away. Dark Sonic tried to move, but it was impossible. "Hey, Rex!!" shouted Dark. "You think you can hurry it up out there?"

"I'm trying the best I can, your 'highness'!" mocked Rex.

The armadillo was kneeling on his knees, hammering away at the sphinx's back with a hammer and chisel. He knew full well that it was going to take a very long time to extricate Dark Sonic from his magic-fortified cell, and he was still very angry about not being let in on Dark's big plan, so tough beans.

Rex had actually been the first one to wake up from consciousness after Dark Sonic had been defeated. First, he ranted and threw a huge tantrum when he saw that his entire hotel had been destroyed while everything else was back to normal. Then, he went over and was able to revive Cindy and Card Trick. Once he saw they were fine, they jumped in his Viper and spent the entire day in hiding. The three of them talked and tried to piece together what had happened in the last few days. Finally, they decided to travel to somewhere up north, like Aspen or Lake Tahoe, for a more worthwhile vacation and get away from all the desert and sun. Plus, Rex decided to put his "show" (the very reason he came to Vegas in the first place) on hold until further notice. First, however, Rex decided to stop by Las Vegas one last time to see how Dark Sonic was doing… just out of curiosity, he assured his companions. It took some doing to park the car and make his way to the sphinx now that people were being allowed back into the city, so he tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

Rex hammered at the sphinx while Cindy and Card Trick had gone to the restrooms.

"Could you perhaps move it along up there, Rex?" grumbled Dark Sonic from inside the sphinx. "I don't have all eternity here!"

Rex swallowed a barrage of swear words and grumbled, "Hey, I barely got anything here to work with, so-…"

"Rex!" shouted Cindy, who angrily came back from the restrooms with Card Trick and spotted him trying to break Dark Sonic out. "What the hell are you doing?"

Rex put a finger to his lips, grinning, and suddenly snapped the chisel in half with his metal hand. "Oops! Darn, I think I broke the chisel I was using to break you out. Clumsy me!"

"Rex!! Stop fooling around and get me out of here, you idiot!! I don't like it in here at all!"

"Well, maybe you should've thought about _that_ before you decided to go off on this little side-quest of yours without letting me in on it! Putting me and Cindy and Card Trick and everyone on Earth in danger of being burned to a crisp from hellfire and brimstone is NOT cool, Dark! What would've happened if everyone DID die, huh? Who would you turn to to get your jollies from then? Huh?!"

No answer at first. Then, "Look, just get me the hell out of here, Rex, before I wring that stupid neck of yours!!"

With a huff, Rex hopped down off the sphinx and walked over to Card Trick and Cindy. "Sure thing," said Rex, "Right after I go find a new chisel somewhere… like, say, some resort near Mount Rainier perhaps."

At that point, Dark Sonic mouthed off a long list of swear words.

Rex turned to Card Trick. "If you would be so kind?"

Card Trick nodded, chanted an incantation, waved his arms and added another layer of magic around the sphinx, silencing Dark Sonic's ranting.

Cindy turned to Rex. "Are we leaving for Washington right now?"

Rex thought for a moment. "Well, actually, it is rather late. I don't see why we can't stay at least one more night here at the Luxor and leave in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" said Card Trick.

"Alrighty then!" said Rex. "I guess we can quickly reserve one room for-…" Cindy elbowed Rex's side. "Er, I mean, _two_ rooms for this evening."

"Sweet, my own room! I wonder if any of the showgirls are still around…" And the rabbit ran off towards the Luxor lobby.

Cindy gave Rex a sly look. "So, crazy, you aren't concerned about the additional cost of an extra room?"

With a grin, Rex swooped down and picked up Cindy in his arms, making her giggle, and gave her a smooch before walking towards the lobby. "Trust me, babe, the cost is gonna be the last thing on my mind tonight."

THE END

_Many thanks to John R. Dilworth, Gareth Paul Barsby, Darkest Moon, Tortured Artist, and last but not least, Chris Gammon. _


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